Trump's campaign chair in a key Ohio county insists there was 'no racism' before Obama was elected

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last updated 22 September 2016

In an interview with The Guardian published Thursday, Donald Trump's campaign chair in Ohio's Mahoning County denied racism existed before President Obama took office. "Growing up as a kid, there was no racism, believe me. We were just all kids going to school," said Kathy Miller, who was a teenager amid the civil rights movement in the 1960s. When asked if she'd noticed any segregation during her childhood, Miller insisted she'd "never experienced it."

Instead, Miller said, she first noticed the issue of racism when the country elevated its first African-American president. "I don't think there was any racism until Obama got elected," Miller said. "We never had problems like this ... Now, with the people with the guns, and shooting up neighborhoods, and not being responsible citizens, that's a big change, and I think that's the philosophy that Obama has perpetuated on America."

Miller also said African-Americans must "take responsibility for how they live," and then told The Guardian's reporter to "get off [the] topic" of racism because "it's of no consequence." Head over to The Guardian to get a glimpse of how the white and black communities of Ohio's Mahoning County are responding to the election — and watch part of Miller's interview, below. Becca Stanek