On Monday, President Donald Trump answered the spate of leaked tapes former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman has released in recent days by attacking her intelligence, a common insult he uses against his black critics.
Wacky Omarosa, who got fired 3 times on the Apprentice, now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never will. She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes, I said Ok. People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart. I would rarely see her but heard….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018
…really bad things. Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said GREAT things about me – until she got fired!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018
Manigault Newman has been steadily releasing audio she clandestinely recorded in the West Wing to gin up anticipation for her upcoming memoir, “UNHINGED.” One of those tapes, allegedly recorded in the Situation Room, captures Chief of Staff John Kelly firing Manigault Newman. Another is of Trump expressing his dismay over and ignorance of her dismissal.
Neither Trump’s response not his choice of insult is surprising, as Trump has repeatedly used insults like “low IQ” and “dumb” to label prominent black people he doesn’t like.