Georgia state senator Michael Williams says he would not have an issue with Donald Trump using the “N-word,” in the past, arguing that accountability for the president’s actions changed when he became president.
When asked by host Victor Blackwell on CNN’s “New Day Saturday,” Williams tried to set up a separation between Trump’s “Personal beliefs” and his work as President. When asked if it matter than trump used the “n-word,” Williams claimed, “It would matter as an individual, it would not necessarily matter to me as the person that is running our country.”
“I will always say using the n-word is wrong, and it’s bad, and should never be accepted in our society, but just because he might have done it years ago, not as our president, doesn’t mean we need to continue to berate him because he used it,” said Williams.
Williams also tried to say that Trump is a product of his time, noting that there were times in the past “where people freely used that word.”
The discussion was centering on both the possibility of Trump using the “n-word” during the filming of “The Apprentice,” as claimed by former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman in her new book, “Unhinged.”
The alleged tape has not yet surfaced.
Williams seems to feel that while he feels personally that the use of the slur is always wrong, he would not be bothered with the President’s use of it in the past. “To hold somebody accountable for something he did years ago as our president today, I think it sets a bad precedent,” said Williams.
Williams recently ran for Governor in Georgia, but finished in last place in the GOP primary. One of the stunts he pulled during the run-up to the primary was to host a “deportation bus” as a way to show his support for the Trump administration’s policies towards immigrants.
Watch the interview below.
Image via screen capture from video source.