Basil Smikle torches Trump over 'insulting' retort to allegations of racism claiming he has 'so many Black friends'

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic strategist Basil Smikle joined anchor Alex Witt on the June 14 episode of 'MSNBC Reports'. Smikle responded to former President Donald Trump's comments over allegations of racism against him. 

In a recent interview with Semafor which focused on the presumptive GOP nominee's rise in popularity among black male voters, Trump was asked about his take on those in the community who accused him of racism. "I have so many Black Friends that if I were a racist, they wouldn't be friends, they would know better than anybody, and fast," he reportedly replied. "They would not be with me for two minutes if they thought I was racist - and I'm not racist!" Trump said. 

Basil Smikle accuses Donald Trump of 'insulting' Black community 

Smikle told Witt, chuckling over Trump's comment, "Yeah, the old 'Black friends' thing, we have heard that a thousand times before. Just because you know some Black people doesn't mean you understand or actually get what African Americans are going through."

"The fact that you (Trump) attack African American leaders, that in many ways, the attacks on Milwaukee are sort of done in conjunction with the attacks on diversity and equity and inclusion that did not earn it - the Republicans have lumped a lot of that stuff in, so what does that say?" Smikle questioned. 

"That tells a voter that when you see somebody in a position of power, particularly if they are African American, that they are not competent at that job," he continued. "So what he (Trump) does is he aligns himself not with Black leaders or with community leaders, but with Black celebrities because he believes that celebrity connection is how you talk to us," he added. 

"That is not how you talk to us. He won't go into the communities and actually do the kind of groundwork that 2012 moratorium after the election that Republicans said they were going to do - they didn't do it. So it's just a lot of talk, and it's actually pandering. It's condescending and it's insulting," he concluded.

Basil Smikle's take on Trump allegedly calling Milwaukee 'a horrible city'

Earlier in the discussion, Witt brought up the subject of Trump slamming Milwaukee, the site for the 2024 Republican National Conference, as "a horrible city," an allegation that the former President has unequivocally denied after it made headlines.

"We should remember that he (Trump) tends to take these kinds of jabs against leaders of color," said Smikle, referring to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the first Black Mayor of the city who had spoken up against the former President's remarks.

"The tactic that (Trump) uses is not something unlike what Republicans have used in the last few years. They tried to point at issues (like crime and voter fraud) that may be representative of cities, and get that to expand into the suburbs... to try to move suburban voters to go to the polls on issues that aren't very specific to them."

"So yes, it's racialized, it's urbanized, it's a tactic that Republicans have used quite extensively," he added.