Former President Donald Trump’s recent campaign trail comments that his four criminal indictments gained him the support of Black voters due to them seeing him as a victim of discrimination have received backlash from some, including Rev. Al Sharpton.
Trump made the assertion on Feb. 23 to a room of Black Republicans at the Conservative Black Federation in Columbia, South Carolina.
The former president, who has been charged with 91 criminal offenses as of December 2023, told the crowd, “I got indicted for nothing, for something that is nothing. They were doing it because it’s election interference, and then I got indicted a second time, and a third time and a fourth time.”
Trump continued, “And a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against,” as light applause can be heard in the background.
“And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing,” Trump added.
He also told the audience that his mug shot — taken at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Aug. 24 after he voluntarily surrendered following his indictment on racketeering and other charges — has been embraced by the Black population more than any other group.
“I’m being indicted for you, the American people. I’m being indicted for you, the Black population,” Trump also said at the event.
Sharpton shared his displeasure with Trump’s comments on Monday during an appearance on MSNBC, accusing Trump of exploiting the stereotype of Black people as criminals who would, therefore, “gravitate toward somebody in a mugshot.”
The civil rights and social justice activist said while Trump was featured in a mug shot for election interference-related charges, Black people have been arrested during marches in attempts to earn the right to vote.
He called Trump’s comments “the epitome of an insult,” considering that Black prosecutors, including New York…
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