COLUMBIA, S.C. Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Black Conservative Federation Gala on February 23, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina on Feb. 23. Trump was campaigning in South Carolina ahead of the state’s Republican presidential primary on February 24.
COLUMBIA, S.C. − Former president Donald Trump, campaigning in South Carolina Friday, brought the issue of race into the campaign by comparing his legal battles to the injustices Black Americans face in the legal system and saying Black voters would prefer him over his predecessor, “Black president” Barack Obama.
Speaking to an audience of mostly Black Americans, Trump suggested − inaccurately − that he is popular with African American voters. He said his 91 criminal indictments and mug shot were part of the reason.
“A lot of people said 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,” he told an event sponsored by the Black Conservative Federation where about two-thirds of the crowd were Black Americans and one third were white people.
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“It’s been pretty amazing but possibly, maybe, there’s something there,” he said of his theory that his criminal woes are something that makes him relatable to Black voters.
At another point, Trump squinted at the crowd and said: “The lights are so bright in my eyes I can’t see too many people out there. But I can only see the Black ones. I can’t see any white ones. That’s how far I’ve come.”
In disparaging President Barack Obama over the costs of a new Air Force One, Trump “Would you rather have the Black president or the white president who got $1.7 billion off the price?”
As the crowd cheered that remark, Trump said: “I think they want the white guy.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says Black voters relate to criminal prosecutions, prefer the ‘white guy’ to Obama
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