Donald Trump allegedly referred to gay Apprentice contestant Kwame Jackson as a “Black f*g”. (J Countess/Getty)
Donald Trump has been branded the “most racist, anti-LGBT+ president in decades”, after allegations resurfaced that he referred to a gay Apprentice contestant as a “Black fag”.
In his new tell-all memoir, the president’s former personal fixer Michael Cohen breathes new life into claims of Trump’s homophobic and racist conduct during his time as a judge on reality TV show The Apprentice.
The former Trump confidante alleges that the leader took a disliking to contestant Kwame Jackson during the show’s first season in 2004, blocking him from winning because he is gay and Black.
Cohen wrote: “Although I never heard Trump use the N-word in my time spent with him, them were many times that he made racist comments. What he said in private was far worse than what he uttered in public.”
He noted of a 2008 conversation: “Trump reminisced to me about [Apprentice winner Bill] Rancic, who had been in a head-to-head with another contestant, Kwame Jackson.
“Kwame was not only a nice guy, but also a brilliant Harvard MBA graduate. Trump was explaining his back-and-forth about not picking Kwame. ‘There was no way I was going to let this Black fag win,’ he said to me.”
It’s not the first time Cohen has made the allegation since his very public split from the president, giving a near-identical account of the conversation to Vanity Fair in 2018.
Jackson, now a successful media commentator, backed up the claims — telling the outlet he had overheard such comments from Trump.
The former Apprentice contestant has previously described Trump as a racist, making clear: “There’s a preponderance of comments. Whether it’s what he said about Mexicans being rapists. What he said about the Black Lives Matter movement. Donald Trump has said many racist things that are out there in the media already.”
Donald Trump is the most racist, anti-LGBTQ president we’ve seen in decades.
Responding to the resurfaced allegations, Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David, a Black gay man, said: “If true, Cohen’s revelation confirms what we already know: Donald Trump is the most racist, anti-LGBTQ president we’ve seen in decades.
“If true, this statement would be by far the most horrifically anti-LGBTQ statement made by Trump throughout his time in public life.
“Over and over again, Trump demeans people because of their marginalised identity, ignoring their value or contributions and instead dehumanising them.”
He added: “This mentality, this type of language leads to the violence we’ve seen across this country. This year we are on track to have the highest amount of anti-transgender violence since HRC began tracking it in 2013.
“We need a president who will empower marginalised communities. We need a president who recognises his words have power and impact.
“We need a president who will support and protect the transgender community, particularly Black trans women who bear the brunt of the violence. We need Joe Biden.”
It’s far from the only bombshell to come from the former fixer’s memoir, which also alleges that disgraced evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr only gave Trump a pivotal endorsement in 2016 because Cohen had helped him hush up a sex scandal.