By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-25 22:22:00 | Updated at 2024-11-26 00:28:58
2 hours ago
Donald Trump is not a racist, or at least not in the eyes of black men, says ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
Speaking with comedian Bill Maher on his show, Club Random, the increasingly political Smith dismissed the accusations of racism Trump has faced since the early 1970s.
'If we're being totally honest, all the brothers found him to be cool,' said Smith, who has been very critical of Democrats since their election defeat.
'They found him to be very cool. So, let's be clear. Because he knew his sports, all right? He would say what he feels, he bucked the establishment, which we love, and we gravitated to that.'
Maher agreed.
'I don't think his motivation is ''I don't like black people,''' Maher said. 'I think his motivation is: ''Everybody must love me.''
Donald Trump is not a racist, or at least not in the eyes of black men, says Stephen A. Smith
Smith leapt to Trump's defense following his victory in the presidential election this month
Claiming he knew Trump from before his days as a politician, Smith then denied ever calling the 78-year-old racist.
'I have never spoken about him that way,' Smith said. 'Ever. Not one time. Not one time. Because I knew him beforehand.'
Trump was able to make slight inroads with black voters nationally, who made up about 1 in 10 voters across the country.
Nationally, about 8 in 10 black voters supported Harris. But that was down from about 9 in 10 in the last presidential election who went for Joe Biden.
Trump about doubled his share of young black men – which helped him among key Democratic voting group. About 3 in 10 Black men under the age of 45 went for Trump, roughly double the number he got in 2020.
Allegations of racism against Trump did not originate with his first foray into politics eight years ago.
In 1973, for example, the Justice Department sued the real estate tycoon and his father for their alleged refusal to rent apartments in predominantly white buildings to black tenants. Testimony showed that applications filed by black apartment seekers were marked with a 'C' for 'colored.'
The lawsuit ended in a settlement in which the Trumps acknowledged they 'failed and neglected' to comply with the Fair Housing Act, though they were never required to explicitly acknowledge discrimination had occurred.
Stephen A. Smith and Bill Maher disputed the notion that Trump is a "terrible racist."
Smith: "If we’re being totally honest, all the brothers found him to be cool. They found him to be very cool. So, let’s be clear. Because he knew his sports, all right? He would say what he… pic.twitter.com/AWT9NbmQt7
Trump, seen alongside billionaire donor Elon Musk, has faced racism accusations since the 70s
In 1989, Trump infamously took out full page newspaper ads calling for New York state to reinstate the death penalty as five black and Latino teenagers were set to stand trial for beating and raping a white woman in Central Park.
Black clergy leaders responded with their own full-page ad denouncing Trump's as a 'thinly veiled racist polemic' meant to divide the city. The Rev. Al Sharpton also organized a demonstration outside Trump Tower.
The five men were eventually exonerated in 2002 after another man admitted to the crime and it was determined their confessions were coerced.
In the 1990s, the Atlantic City casino mogul frequently cast doubt about the legitimacy of tribes seeking to build casinos in the New York area, citing their dark skin as evidence they were faking their ancestry.
'They don't look like Indians to me, and they don't look like Indians to Indians, and a lot of people are laughing at it,' Trump said of the Mashantucket Pequots who operate Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut during testimony before Congress in 1993.
Tribe leaders at the time called out the remarks as racist. The National Indian Gaming Association filed a Federal Communications Commission complaint after Trump made similar remarks on Don Imus' talk radio show.
The group described his on-air comments as 'obscene, indecent and profane racial slurs against Native Americans and African Americans.' The FCC declined to take action, though it called the remarks 'deplorable' and 'offensive.'
Trump picked one prominent African-American candidate for his second term in ex-NFL player Scott Turner (right), who will head Housing and Urban Development
The Republican businessman also famously used the 'birther' conspiracy to propel himself into national politics in the late 2000s.
During the Obama administration, he baselessly claimed the nation's first black president wasn't qualified to hold the office because he was born in Kenya, not the U.S., as is required under the Constitution.
He recanted the statements, however, during his winning 2016 campaign.
Trump's cabinets have been largely without of any African Americans with the notable exception of his Housing and Urban Development nominees: Ben Carson, from 2017 through 2020, and his current pick, former NFL player Scott Turner.
