Donald Trump Responds To Charges Of Racism (VIDEO)

Donald Trump came to his own defense in the wake of facing charges of racism during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Monday morning.

"I am the least racist person there is," asserted the potential presidential contender. "And I think most people who know me would tell you that. I am the least racist, I’ve had great relationships."

Trump pointed to his "Celebrity Apprentice" reality show to make his case.

"In fact, Randal Pinkett won as you know on 'The Apprentice' a little while ago, a couple of years ago," he said. "And Randall’s been outstanding in every way. So I am the least racist person."

Reuters reported last week:

An African-American political advocacy group is targeting "Celebrity Apprentice" star Donald Trump in the aftermath of what many feel are racially tinged political comments made about President Obama.

On Thursday, the organization ColorOfChange launched a Twitter-based campaign to persuade black "Celebrity Apprentice" cast members Star Jones and Lil Jon to denounce Trump for what the group terms "race-baiting."

During a recent appearance on CNN, Trump was asked whether his repeated calls for President Barack Obama to disclose his long-form birth certificate were motivated by racism. The question was presented to the billionaire on the heels of the White House releasing the document and after weeks of Trump raising skepticism over the issue.

The billionaire said that he is "the least racist" and suggested that those who know him "would laugh" at the suggestion that wasn't the case.

As for whether he plans to run in 2012, Trump recently told Bloomberg News, “In my mind, I have already decided." He signaled his intent to jump into the presidential race, though said he could not be expected to make a formal announcement until the end of "Celebrity Apprentice," which culminates its season on May 22.

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Comments

[Edith in Dallas]

01:12 PM on 05/21/2011

Did Trump forget before announcing Randal Pinket as winner he asked Randal if he'd be interested in sharing the win with the white female runner up because the audience loved her too. I've forgotten her name. He'd never done that before so I never watched ANY Apprentice show again. It made me cringe, I was embarrassed for Pinkett and glad he responded NO. Today I'm researching why the boycott on Celebrity Apprentice and cringe again today as I read Trump is using selecting Pinkett as leverage to prove he's not racist? He was racist "back then" and racist "today" to remind us of his steps in selecting Pinkett. Some of us have not forgot!!!

[sharp914]

03:39 AM on 05/15/2011

I remember Randal Pinkett on the appearance some years back. I didn't realy care much for him to win at the time, i wanted the girl to win. but he won based on trumps pick. I didn't like him because during the season he was on the show he claimed racism and he was an outcast. He claimed he was not racism and he was fair. Well Randal Pinkett i would have to say your full of racism during the time of the show,because when the show viewed your company it showed that you were only a all black company because the viewers only saw all black employees in your company. Don't claim fairness when your not, just be honest and don't lie. if you know you have racism in you just own up to it and then make a change to become a better person.

[SaddieMcCall]

07:03 AM on 05/13/2011

Citing proof of not being a racist as having hiring someone to work for you is like stating that a man can't be sexist because he is married to a woman.

[labman57]

10:21 PM on 05/11/2011

Racism is not simply about how you respond to a person that you happen to like.
It's also about how you respond to a person that you do not like -- that is often the time when one's latent racism rises to the surface.

[nutbagger]

10:10 AM on 05/11/2011

Coast?

[sixletters]

10:58 PM on 05/10/2011

I want to hear Snooki's views on U.S. Pakistan policy.

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

10:30 PM on 05/10/2011

Did I hear Trump right that he called Celebrity Apprentice the top rated NBC show? Can he ever tell the truth? I

[urfree2speak]

09:28 PM on 05/10/2011

Kazer Soze
"why does he keep appearing on fox all the times when its on his head" ?

Actually he has a "bu sh' on his head

[flossophy]

05:11 PM on 05/10/2011

Gretchen Carlson = America's Mom

[njgal4obama]

07:07 PM on 05/10/2011

I have a mom, and she's nothing like Gretchen Carlson.

I am a mom, and I'm NOTHING like Gretchen Carlson.

[Kazer Soze]

04:02 PM on 05/10/2011

Why he keeps appearing on fox news when the fox is on his head all the time?

[Mickey Bitsko]

02:27 PM on 05/10/2011

Billionaire? I don't believe it, I wish to challenge the Trump to prove it by releasing his P/L we don't even have to view his tax forms (he may wish to re-consider his candidacy or begin to alter them now).

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

10:13 PM on 05/10/2011

I don'r believe he's a billionaire either. I don't think he's been one for several years now and I don't think he'll run for president, partially because releasing the truth about his income would show what many already believe - he never tells the truth about his finances. Ever. He was even caught in a deposition admitting that he exaggerates his income and even lied to investors that he owned a property that he didn't to inspire more sales (he got a cut if they used his name). He is a charlatan and a snake oil salesman.

[indywoman]

02:22 PM on 05/10/2011

Donald Chumps whole philosophy is the louder you say something, and the more times you say it, the more true it seems. That is why he kept going on tv night after night, day after day, to call Rosie O'Donnell a "bad person". He called her fat, ugly, stupid and a bad person. There is a huge segment of people this works on. But, it also turned another segment of people off for good.

Donald himself is fat. I shudder to think what he looks like under those expensive custom made suits. He is more overweight than Rosie ever was, yet he went on tv day after day calling her fat. It wasn't a very smart move...he exposed himself as the thin skinned baby he is, and he angered fat women the world over. Now he is insulting black people the world over by saying that Obama shouldn't have been admitted to Harvard...which suggests that our President was helped by affirmative action. Trump himself was helped by the millions of dollars of his father's, both in getting him in to the Wharton School and by inheriting, yet he boasts of being a self made person...he likes to have it both ways, while accusing others of cheating.

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

10:18 PM on 05/10/2011

The is the GOP philosophy: pretend your lies are true and say them as often and as loud as you can.
As for if he's fat - so what. Pointing that out weakens your argument because it's not based on his actions. We already know he's a hypocrite. That's really not the issue, is it?

The issue is that he doesn't tell the truth and is a closet racist. He demeans others because he is weak-minded and lacks class. He has no diplomacy skills whatsoever, no empathy for anyone and feels no remorse when he screws someone over. He would make a horrible candidate for president and he never would be president. People are already waking up to his nonsense and have had enough.

[RobH413]

05:19 PM on 05/11/2011

No diplomacy skills? Are you kidding me? Didn't you hear his plan for bringing gas prices down? He would tell OPEC "Listen fellas, you had your fun. But your fun is over. Now it's time to bring the prices down." Didn't you hear his plan for dealing with China? He's going to call them "motherf---ers."

This is simple stuff. I'm not sure why Obama is having such a hard time with it or why you are having such a hard time understanding it.

Are you trying to say that this kind of straight talk will not work in the complex world of international diplomacy?

[RobH413]

05:28 PM on 05/11/2011

Let's assume the President WAS helped by Affirmative Action or some other form of racial preference. Let's ignore for the moment that people like George W. Bush ALSO get preferences based on their family history of alumni with particular schools. That doesn't count.

Can we agree that a student's potential is not necessarily always reflected fully in his or her academic transcript and test scores? Of course we can. We can therefore presumably agree that it is at least appropriate if not wise for colleges to consider other measures of talent and ability, no?

In a case where someone is granted a preferential admission to a college, that person's success after college would tend to validate the wisdom of the original decision, wouldn't it? So if a medical student were admitted despite subpar grades or scores and then later go on to discover a vaccine for a major disease, or forget about discovering the vaccine, if he dedicated years of his life to administering vaccines to kids in poor countries, that would tend to make the decision to admit that student look like a very good one, right?

Here's another example. The student becomes a US Senator, then President of the United States, wins a Nobel Prize and commands an operation that kills the world's most notorious terrorist. Would anyone question whether his grades were good enough to get in to Columbia????

[indywoman]

12:40 PM on 05/12/2011

I don't understand why you responded to my comment in this way. I was not saying I agreed with Trump about how our President got into Harvard. He is obviously an exceptionally intelligent person who has achieved a tremendous amount in his 52 years.

I was saying that Trump was inferring that our President didn't have the grades to get into Harvard, suggesting that someone helped him. The fact that Trump would say this considering that his daddy got him in to the Wharton Business School, then died and left him millions of dollars, yet Donald likes to call himself a self made man. I was pointing out the hypocrisy of this argument.

[Lorraine Danese]

01:52 PM on 05/10/2011

one of my Apprenice winners were BLACK ? FUNNY Trump your true colors came out !! POOR Donald **lol

[Highball]

01:50 PM on 05/10/2011

LOL

He is barely able to form a coherent sentence. And the equivalent of "Some of my best friends are black," is just sad. Truly sad.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:36 PM on 05/10/2011

When cornered Trump finally admitted "Ok you got me, I hate the human race, but I'm still not sure that includes blacks.".. Lucky them?