Byron Donalds Confronted on Donald Trump's 'Racist' Remarks on Black Voters

Representative Byron Donalds (R-Florida) shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during an event at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Donalds defended recent controversial remarks by Trump, which many have called “racist,” during a Sunday interview with NBC News.

Representative Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, on Sunday said that President Joe Biden’s team is calling Donald Trump’s remarks on Black voters “plain racist” to “play politics” when he was confronted about them by NBC News host Kristen Welker on Meet the Press.

The Context:

On Friday night, the former president spoke at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in Columbia, South Carolina. During his speech, Trump said that Black people like him because he has been criminally indicted four times. Trump, the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has plead not guilty to all charges and called the cases against him politically motivated.

Biden did exceptionally well with Black voters compared to Trump in the 2020 election. Biden got 90 percent of the Black vote in 2020, while Trump only got 10 percent, according to an average calculated from American election eve polls, the Associated Press VoteCast survey, and national exit polls.

What We Know:

Welker showed a clip of Trump speaking at the black-tie event to Donalds on Sunday.

“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time. And a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against,” Trump said in the clip.

Welker then asked Donalds, “Congressman it sounds like Donald Trump was implying that he could win Black voters because they get indicted all the time too. Is that what he was saying?”

Donalds, a Trump ally who was the one to introduce Trump at Friday’s night’s gala, responded: “It’s part of it, Kristen.” He then explained that Black voters are concerned with the state of the economy and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border under Biden’s administration, but that they also have dealt with “political persecution” like Trump has had to endure.

“Their look of it is real simple: ‘Well, dang if the government is going after him with foolishness, he can’t be that bad.'”

Welker then clarified that there is no evidence that the cases against Trump are politically motivated and then pivoted to get Donald’s response to how Biden’s team reacted to Trump’s comments at Friday’s gala.

Former Democratic Representative Cedric Richmond who is currently the co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign said on Saturday: “Donald Trump claiming that Black Americans will support him because of his criminal charges is insulting. It’s moronic. And it’s just plain racist.”

Donalds told Welker that Richmond “is trying to play politics and use racial politics even now as we get into the general election.”

The congressman added: “The number one reason why minority voters in our country wanna support Donald Trump is because he did the job of president. He did a great job as president. Our country was secure, the economy was great, these are all things that Donald Trump talked about Friday night.

“He also did talk about the indictments. What Americans don’t want to see, especially Black Americans, and anybody else, they don’t want to see a politicized Justice Department. They don’t want to see a two-tier system of justice…”

Newsweek reached out to Donald’s office, Trump’s campaign, and Biden’s campaign via email for comment.

Views:

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and ex-United Nations ambassador, called her political opponent’s comments at the gala “disgusting” on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Haley said: “That’s the offensiveness that’s gonna happen every day between now and the general election, which is why I continue to say Donald Trump cannot win a general election. He won’t. We can make him the primary nominee if we want to, but Republicans will lost come November. This is a huge warning sign.”

Meanwhile, MSNBC correspondent Garrett Haake warned that Trump’s comments may not be as well received by the general Black population in America as they were with his Black supporters at the gala.

“When these clips are played around the country to that broader African-American audience whom he is desperately trying to make some inroads with, I think that’s when you have the real problem here,” Haake said on The Weekend on Saturday.

What’s Next?

Trump has won every state-level Republican primary and caucus, aside from the Nevada Republican primary where he was not on the ballot. After winning Haley’s home state by 20 points on Saturday, it is looking even more likely that Trump will be the Republican nominee. November’s general election will likely be a re-match between Trump and Biden, the Democratic incumbent.

Update 2/25/24, 11:19 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 2/25/24, 11:46 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

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