Donald Trump said he was the “least racist person in this room” when asked about racism in America at Thursday’s final debate with Joe Biden, and viewers on social media were quick to pull out the receipts — and the bleak jokes.
“Trump: ‘I’m the least racist person in this room.’ The room,” “Saturday Night Live” writer Steven Castillo tweeted alongside a photo of a KKK cross-burning.
“A full page ad, from the least racist person in that room,” actor and comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted alongside a photo of the ad Trump spent $85,000 on in 1989, calling for the death penalty in response to the Central Park Five case, when a group of young Black and Latino men were wrongly convicted of raping a woman and only exonerated years later.
“Can we take a second to acknowledge that Trump said to Kristen Welker… A BLACK WOMAN … that he’s the least racist person in the room,” actress Yara Shahidi tweeted.
At the debate, moderator Kristen Welker asked Trump to respond to sentiments that his actions and language about race have contributed to a “climate of hate and racial strife” in America.
“You’ve described the Black Lives Matter movement as a symbol of hate. You’ve shared a video of a white man chanting ‘white power’ to millions of your supporters. You’ve said that Black professional athletes exercising their First Amendment rights should be fired. What do you say to Americans who say that kind of language from a president is contributing to a climate of hate and racial strife?” Welker said.
“As far as my relationships with all people, I think I have great relationships with all people. I am the least racist person in this room,” Trump responded.
“Well, what do you say to Americans who are concerned by that rhetoric and by the videos?” Welker asked again.
“I don’t know what to say. I got criminal-justice reform done and prison reform and opportunity zones,” Trump said. “I don’t know what to say. they can say anything. I mean, they can say anything. It makes me sad because I am the least racist person, I can’t even see the audience because it’s so dark, but I don’t care who’s in the audience, I’m the least racist person in this room.”
Earlier in the night, Trump also claimed that nobody had done more for the Black community than Trump since Abraham Lincoln.
Take a look at more of the responses below:
Trump: “I’m the least racist person in this room.”
The room: pic.twitter.com/ohtCNgtCcU
— Steven Castillo (@STEEEZUSCHRIST) October 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/AubreyODay/status/1319464323257749506
Hey Donald, you’re only the least racist person in the room if it’s 1942 Germany and you’re at a cocktail party hosted by the Third Reich and even then I’m not entirely convinced #Debates2020
— Patti Murin (@PattiMurin) October 23, 2020
A full page ad, from the least racist person in that room #Debates2020https://t.co/VwTAlJcTKd
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) October 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/1319464142860857344
Looking 'round the room
I can tell that you
Are the least racist in the room
(In the whole wide room)
And when you're on the street
Depending on the street
I bet you are definitely in the bottom three racists on the street, yeah
Depending on the street, ooh#Debates2020— Zack Guzmán (@zGuz) October 23, 2020
When President Trump says he's the least racist person in the room 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZYhVAVBbno
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) October 23, 2020
“I am the least racist person in this room!” pic.twitter.com/oDKP9H6rj1
— Michael. (@yosoymichael) October 23, 2020
“I am the least racist person in the room” – Donald Trump
Where were you on 10/22/20 when irony officially died?
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) October 23, 2020
Trump: I am the least racist person here! Out of everyone! I can’t even see the audience because they’re so dark too many Black people
— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) October 23, 2020
"I am the least racist person in this room"–Donald Trump
Clearly still on meds.— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) October 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/YaraShahidi/status/1319464737965404162
Person. Woman. Least racist man in the room. Camera. TV.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) October 23, 2020