Omarosa Manigault (DrivingtheNortheast/Flickr)
In a personal essay published Tuesday, Dec. 6, Omarosa Manigault backed Donald Trump and credited him for helping her achieve wealth and success. Pushing the former “Apprentice” host’s attacks on the Black community aside, Manigault proclaimed she had never observed the president-elect engaging in racist or sexist actions.
“I am Black, female, and Donald Trump is my friend,” Manigault asserted in The Hollywood Reporter. “I never observed any of the behaviors attributed to him. In my experiences with him, he has only been professional. I am aware of the perceptions. But he is open-minded. He does not judge people on their gender or race. He judges them on their ability to do the job.”
After proclaiming Trump Organization employs more women than its competitors, Manigault defended the 70-year-old’s racist rhetoric, some of which included backing increased stop-and-frisk usage to reduce violence in Black neighborhoods. The former “Apprentice” contestant cited her personal success and experience on the reality show as the reason why he is not racist.
“He’s been very public about how he feels,” Manigault said. “That I contributed to ‘The Apprentice’ franchise and how I was his favorite contestant, contrary to what people say and believe about him when it comes to African-American women. Truly, I am living the American dream because of Donald Trump. Look at my career, the wealth and exposure that I’ve had. It’s very difficult to make the argument that Donald Trump doesn’t like Black people and Black women.”
Manigault, who is presently working to ensure diversity within the Trump administration, also noted the businessman’s’ contribution to her “Bachelorette”-style show, “The Ultimate Merger.”
“He allowed me to take my show … to a Black entrepreneur, Cathy Hughes, on a Black network, TV One,” she remarked. “It was a dating show, with an African-American cast. That point often is lost when people are trying to paint him with an ugly brush.”
The TV personality wrapped her essay by pointing out Trump’s support after the deaths of her brother and her fiancé, actor Michael Clarke Duncan.
“I can tell you I experienced a kindness and compassion the world has not seen,” she concluded. “The world does not know that side of Donald Trump.”
