Trump says he can't be racist because he has 'many Black friends'

Former President Donald Trump claimed in a new interview published Friday that he can't be racist because he has "so many Black friends."

“I have so many Black friends that if I were a racist, they wouldn’t be friends, they would know better than anybody, and fast," Trump said in a wide-ranging interview with Semafor when asked how he responds to Black voters who call him racist.

"They would not be with me for two minutes if they thought I was racist — and I’m not racist!" he added.

The former president also repeated comments that some Black voters relate to him because he is also “being discriminated against” by the criminal justice system.

“I think it’s through osmosis. They see what’s happening. And a lot of them feel that similar things have happened to them,” Trump said. “I mean, they’ve expressed that to me very plainly and very clear. They see what’s happened to them.”

In recent months, the former president’s campaign has attempted to make inroads with Black voters as enthusiasm for President Joe Biden has been waning among the key demographic.

An April NBC News poll showed Biden leading Trump among Black voters 71% to 13%, but that’s down from 2020 exit polls, which found an 87% to 12% margin for Biden.

This weekend, Trump is set to visit a church in Detroit, a city with a predominantly Black population. He also held a rally in the Bronx recently in a bid to win over Black and Latino voters.

Black men are also included among the potential vice presidential picks for Trump, including Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

In fact, a super PAC affiliated with the GOP senator launched a campaign last week to attract voters of color to