COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump argued that black people like him because he has faced discrimination in the justice system and black people can relate to that.
“I was charged a second, third, fourth time and a lot of people said they liked me because black people have been so hurt and discriminated against. They actually saw me as the one being discriminated against,” he said.
“I'm being prosecuted on behalf of the American people. I'm being prosecuted on behalf of the Black population. I'm being prosecuted on behalf of groups, by sick people. They are really sick people,” Trump said in a speech Friday night accepting the “Champion of Black America” award at the Black Conservative League's annual gala.
Throughout his nearly two-hour speech, Trump suggested his support from black Americans comes from an understanding of how a corrupt system can lead to “greater evil.”
“Some of the greatest evils in the history of our country came from corrupt systems that sought to target, control and deny others their freedoms and their rights,” Trump said. “I think the reason black people are standing with me so strongly right now is because they know what's happening to me is happening to them.”
Trump said black Americans were showing their support for him by buying merchandise with his face on it.
“Everybody's seen the photo of me getting arrested, but you know who embraced it more than anybody? Black people,” Trump said. “You've seen black people walking around with T-shirts with the photo of me getting arrested on them. They're making T-shirts and selling them for $19 a piece. That's pretty amazing. Millions of them, by the way.”
Trump attended the event along with other black Republican politicians, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas and Rep. Byron Donald of Florida, as well as Ben Carson, who served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration.
Adam Wasouris Sr., 33, of the Bronx, New York City, said he agreed with Trump's comments about appealing to black voters.
“Some black men may identify with his problems, and I understand that because so many of the issues that have plagued black men are legal issues,” said Wasoulis, who is vice chair of the New York Young Black Republicans Caucus.
Ahead of the celebration, Jasmine Harris, the Biden campaign's Black media director, called Trump a “black-hating tyrant” and a “proud representative of modern-day racism.”
“This is the same man who falsely accused the Central Park Five, questioned the humanity of George Floyd, likened his own impeachment trial to a lynching and ensured skyrocketing unemployment for Black workers during his presidency,” Harris said.
“For years, Donald Trump has shown his true colors to black Americans: an incompetent, anti-black tyrant who despised us and publicly dined with white supremacists a week after announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election,” she added.
Meanwhile, Trump called Biden a “racist” on Friday night.
“Joe Biden has proven to be a really nasty, vicious racist. He was a racist,” Trump said. “Whether you like it or not. I happen to not like it. Joe Biden has proven to be a really nasty, vicious racist. He was a racist. … Biden was friends with notorious racists for years, you know that.”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks.
Biden has boasted about his ability to work with and compromise with racists, including former South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond. This week, he said he's worked with “real racists” over his long career, but that the current Republican Party is worse.
“I served with Strom Thurmond. I served with people who had a terrible record on race. But you know what? These people are even worse. These people don't believe in the basic principles of our democracy,” he said at a fundraiser in California.
Trump's comments came as allies prepare to launch an effort to deliver a historic chunk of the Black vote to Republicans in the 2024 election.
“We have coalition groups across the country that will be launching efforts in the coming days in these communities that are focused on voter outreach and engagement and messaging to the Black community,” Darrell Scott, a Black pastor in Ohio and Trump adviser who is leading the effort, told NBC News.
Organizers from the Black Conservative League said during the event that they were mobilizing groups across the country to ensure Trump wins a majority of black male votes to face Biden in the general election.
“We believe President Trump will win 50 percent of the black male vote,” said Deante Johnson, president of the Black Conservative Union. “The Democratic Party has literally pushed black men aside.”
