Ex-White House staffer and reality star Omarosa Manigault Newman on Sunday told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd that she has personally heard a rumored tape of President Donald Trump using racist slurs to refer to African-Americans.
‘Once I heard it for myself, it was confirmed what I feared the most that Donald Trump is a con and has been masquerading as someone who is actually open to engaging with diverse communities. But when he talks that way, the way he did on this tape, it confirmed that he is truly a racist.’ —Omarosa Manigault NewmanThe Sunday morning interview comes as Manigault Newman is releasing a tell-all account of her time as a senior staffer in the Trump administration, titled “Unhinged:” In the memoir, the 44-year-old former star of reality show “The Apprentice” claims that Trump is a “racist” who regularly used the “N-word.” However, her “Meet the Press” interview marks the first time she has publicly claimed to have personally heard a tape that purports to feature Trump making derogatory and racists statements. According to the Guardian, which reviewed an advance copy of the book, she had offered no direct proof of her accusations.
Manigault Newman told Todd that she had an opportunity to travel to Los Angeles to listen to the person who is in possession of the tape and didn’t include those details in her in book because it had already closed for publication.
The reality-show star said Trump had never used the “N-word” in her presence, although he had heard him say “inappropriate” things.
For his part, Trump has previously had little to offer up about Manigault Newman beyond praise:
I am very proud of my friend @OMAROSA. Despite her recent loss,she gracefully performs in the upcoming All-Star @ApprenticeNBC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2013
