(The Hill) — Radio host Charlamagne tha God on Monday blasted Lara Trump for claims that her father-in-law, former President Trump, is not racist.
In an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” Trump said she had “never seen” the former president say anything racist despite, his comments about the Central Park Five in the 1980s, his “birtherism” conspiracy theory about former President Obama, his rhetoric regarding migrants at the southern border and his recent embrace of a conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets, among other matters.
“I’ve known this man for 16 years. And, you know, you can go to each of those incidents, and you know, there was, there was never any, any proof of anything,” Trump said on the show.
“However, I will say that you have to look at somebody and what they actually have done, and Donald Trump really was very beneficial to the Black community when he was in the White House. I will say I’ve never seen this man say a racist thing.”
As Trump continued her point, Charlamagne can be heard laughing in the background.
When she questioned why he was laughing, the host replied, “It’s hysterical. But, I mean, people act like there’s no such thing as Google or we don’t have TV, radio.”
Trump tried to jump in and say that her father-in-law is “friends with everyone,” including civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, but co-host Jess Hilarious shot her down.
“Please don’t do that ‘he had Black friends,’” Hilarious said. “That’s not going to work out.”
Trump again defended the former president, arguing that it is a “traditional talking point” to call Republicans racist.
“I hate that the constant knee jerk is ‘Donald Trump is a racist, Donald Trump is a racist.’ I can tell you he wants every person to be successful,” Trump said. “He’ll work for every American equally. He did that the first term when he was president, and he’ll do it again.”
But Charlamagne once again pressed her, this time on how voters are expected to respond to some of the most controversial comments made by the former president, including his false claims about Haitians in Ohio.
“How do you ask Mexicans and Muslims to ignore a lot of the rhetoric, Haitians to ignore a lot of the rhetoric that he said about them that is dangerous, that has villainized them, that has demonized them?” Charlamagne asked.
“When you make these broad generalizations, you do hurt the Haitian Americans that are here, the Mexican Americans that are here. They all get labeled and villainized and demonized.”
Trump said that her father-in-law’s comments were “misconstrued” and doubled down on her assertion that he is not racist.
The tense interview follows a town hall Charlamagne hosted with Vice President Harris, who has been working to step up her messaging to voters of color.
Before President Biden dropped out of the race this summer, Charlamagne had been critical of the Democratic ticket, saying the race for the White House was between “the cowards, the crooks and the couch.”
He has since changed his tune with Harris as the nominee.
Despite his support for the Democrat, Charlamagne has also praised Trump, saying his “America First” messaging is a strong strategy. He also said a recent ad from Trump was “impactful” and “effective.”
