Donald Trump's Racist Comments About Black Voters Defended by Florida Congressman Bryon Donalds

In a recent controversial statement, former President Donald Trump suggested that Black voters might relate to him due to his legal troubles.

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds , a black Republican, defended Trump’s questionable comments, suggesting that Black voters can relate to him because of his indictments.

During the Black Conservative Federation Honors Gala in Columbia, South Carolina , Trump claimed that "a lot of people" told him that the criminal counts against him have increased his favor among the Black community.

“And then I got indicted a second time and then a third time and a fourth time!” he told the crowd. “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. And they actually viewed me as– I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing.”

“When I did the mugshot in Atlanta , that mug shot is No. 1,” he said, adding: “You know who embraced it more than anyone else? The Black population.”

In a heated back and forth on Meet the Press , NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Donalds, "Congressman, it sounds like Donald Trump was implying that he can win black voters because they get indicted all the time too. Is that what he was saying?"

"I think that's part of it," Donalds told the host before launching into a defense of the former president’s comments. "When you layer on the fact that, yes, this is political persecution from the Department of Justice and from radical DA’s throughout our country, this is something similar that Black people have to deal with, with the justice system themselves."

The NBC anchor fact-checked the congressman on the spot, telling him, "Congressman, let’s just be clear ... All four indictments against former President Trump were brought by grand juries. There is no evidence that the indictments are political in nature."

Welker brought up comments made by Cedric Richmond , a Biden campaign co-chair who said, "Donald Trump claiming that Black Americans will support him because of his criminal charges is insulting — It’s moronic and it’s just plain racist."

Donalds defended Trump by taking shots at Richmond claiming, “Cedric is trying to play politics and use racial politics."

The NBC host asked the Florida congressman, "Were you offended at all by his comments, Congressman?"

He answered, "No, I wasn't — Because I understood what the president was talking about."

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Several clips from the ex-president's speech immediately went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter , where several of Trump's biggest critics called him " blatantly racist " for drawing a one-to-one comparison to crime and the black community.