Longtime Donald Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has leveled extraordinary claims of racism at his former boss, claiming he used racist language and attacked countries with black leader as “shitholes.”
In just one example Cohen confided to Vanity Fair, he described how he told Trump during the 2016 election that one of his rally crowds was mostly white.
“I told Trump that the rally looked vanilla on television. Trump responded, ‘That’s because black people are too stupid to vote for me.'” Cohen told the magazine.
Cohen also referenced a conversation he says he had with Trump after Nelson Mandela’s death.
“Trump said to me, name one country run by a black person that’s not a shithole,” and then he added, “Name one city,”‘ Cohen said.
That remark recalls earlier reports that Trump as president referred to “shithole countries” in reference to African nations.
At the time, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders denied the incendiary remark, then added: “No one here is going to pretend like the president is always politically correct—he isn’t.”
In yet another stunning claim, Cohen told the publication about a conversation about Season One Apprentice contestants Bill Rancic and Kwame Jackson.
Donald Trump had to chose between Bill Rancic and Kwame Jackson to be the winner of The Apprentice.
According to Cohen, Trump explained his difficulty selecting a winner and not selecting Jackson, an African-American Harvard business grad.
“He said, ‘there’s no way I can let this black fag win,”‘ according to Cohen.
Jackson confirmed to Vanity Fair that he has previously heard that Trump made that comment.
“My response to President Trump is simple and Wakandan: Not today, colonizer,” Jackson told the magazine while referring to the fictional African country depicted in the “Black Panther” franchise.
In yet another Cohen account, pegged to the late 2000s, he recalled a conversation with Trump en route to Chicago from a Trump hotel board meeting, when the men entered a rough neighborhood.
“We were going from the airport to the hotel, and we drove through what looked like a rougher neighborhood. Trump made a comment to me, saying that only the blacks could live like this,” according to Cohen.
Former White House aide and Apprentice contestant Omarosa Manigault-Newman said while promoting her book earlier this year that she heard Trump using a racial slur on a tape regarding Kwame Jackson.
The astonishing allegations are less surprising considering Trump has been dogged with allegations of being a racist since the 1970’s when he was sued by the Justice Department for discriminating against African American renters.
Cohen told Vanity Fair he was clearing his conscience after years of being at Trump’s side.
Cohen has previously spoken about his father being a Holocaust survivor, and he linked that to his decision to level such specific – and potentially explosive – charges at the president.
The attorney – who has pleaded guilty to felony federal charges which will almost inevitably send him to prison – claimed that in hindsight he wishes he had left Trump’s organization when his boss used racist terms.
Instead he said, he was numb to the language and forgave Trump.
He claimed that he had thought that being president would change Trump – instead, he said, it has made the language and tone worse.
Trump turned on Cohen this summer as it became clear that the longtime loyalist was considering a plea deal or cooperating with prosecutors.
Trump tweeted in August: “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!”