Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Rep. Peter King (R-NY) told host Joe Scarborough he did not believe presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was a racist, despite the accusations that stem from his remarks about U.S. Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the judge presiding over his Trump University lawsuits.
King argued there was a distinction between a racist remark and being an actual racist.
“Well, first of all, I don’t accept that he’s a racist,” King said. “I barely know Donald Trump. You know him better than I do. But I do know a lot of people who work with him very closely, who know him and they’ve had some tough business dealings with him. He can be a rough guy in the board room, but there’s not a hint of racism.”
“What he said last week was racist,” he added. “But, I make a distinction between a remark that’s racist and you know, he’s almost 70 years old. He’s been in the public life and private life all those years. And no one has come up with that I’m aware of any type of racism at all.”
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