A New York Times story on Monday charged that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s searing rhetoric on the campaign trail has “created some discord” among friends of his who are black celebrities.
But the crux of the story relies on just two actual critics of Trump, one of whom is Rev. Al Sharpton, a longtime supporter of President Obama. Still, the story claims that these two critics show that Trump is alienating his black friends.
“Mr. Trump’s rise in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination — which has also prompted accusations that he is using racially charged rhetoric and has drawn comparisons to the segregationist George Wallace — has created some discord among African-American celebrities whom Mr. Trump has called friends,” the Times story said. The headline said that the “rise of Donald Trump divides black celebrities he calls his friends.”
The story also said “some” of Trump’s black celebrity friends “say they are mystified by the candidate’s sweeping attacks on minority groups.” Of the seven subjects quoted in the story, only Sharpton and former rapper Russell Simmons would directly condemn Trump.
The story refers to an open letter to Trump that Simmons published online on Dec. 8 calling on Trump to “stop fuelling fires of hate.”
That letter called on Trump to “stop the bulls—,” but even then, it urged Trump to change, and wished Trump luck as he seeks the White House, even as he said he’d be working against Trump’s candidacy.
Sharpton is a frequent guest at the White House and an informal adviser to President Obama, and is someone Trump has criticized. In the Times story, Sharpton suggested that Trump may still have black celebrity friends, but does not relate to ordinary black people.
“It’s not like there’s a Trump building in Harlem,” Sharpton said.
Rev. Jesse Jackson said in the story that Trump has said some “painful and hurtful” things throughout the campaign. But, the story said, “When asked if Mr. Trump was a racist, Mr. Jackson responded, ‘I don’t want to use that language.'”
Several other celebrities quoted in the story supported Trump, calling him a longtime friend.
Don King, the professional boxing promoter, said, “To me, Donald is Donald. That’s not a presidential endorsement, but it is a humanistic endorsement.”
The story referred to a recent comment by former boxing champion Mike Tyson, who defended Trump’s controversial remarks on Muslims. “Hey listen, anybody that was ever president of the United States offended some group of people,” Tyson had said.
Jaqueline M. Williams, a former associate at Trump’s company, described the real estate developer’s campaign rhetoric as “shocking” but otherwise only recalled a “warm, professional environment” while working for him.
Retired NFL player Herschel Walker also would not criticize Trump.
“I don’t think Donald is against Muslims, or blacks, or Hispanics,” Walker said in the story. “I do know he is going to try to make this country safe.”
One person not quoted in the story but who is nonetheless a black celebrity with strong ties to Trump is Omarosa Manigault.
Manigault was a controversial contestant on Trump’s NBC show “The Apprentice.” She recently said that Trump “is committed to the black community.”
