Michael Cohen claims Trump once said that black people are 'too stupid' to vote for him


President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is now trying to get out the vote for Democrats with some shocking allegations about his former boss.
Cohen told Vanity Fair Friday that Trump frequently used racist language in private before he became president. In one example, Cohen recalls telling Trump ahead of the 2016 election that the crowd at one of his rallies was almost entirely white. "That’s because black people are too stupid to vote for me," Trump reportedly responded. In another instance, Cohen claims Trump, after the 2013 death of Nelson Mandela, said, "Name one country run by a black person that’s not a sh-thole. Name one city."
That's not all. During a conversation about The Apprentice, Cohen says Trump talked about his decision not to pick Kwame Jackson as the season one winner. "There's no way I can let this black f-g win," Cohen says Trump explained. Jackson himself told Vanity Fair that he had heard that Trump made this comment about him, and Omarosa Manigault, who was also a contestant on The Apprentice, has previously alleged that Trump once called Jackson the N-word. Cohen also claims that when he and Trump were driving through what he describes as a "rougher neighborhood" in the late 2000s, Trump commented, "only the blacks could live like this."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for Trump but has since implicated him in campaign finance violations and become a Democrat, told Vanity Fair that he's coming forward with these allegations just four days ahead of the midterms because he wants voters to know that the president's rhetoric in private is even worse than it is in public. Read more at Vanity Fair.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the Sun
In The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
By Abby Wilson
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plunge
Speed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eatery
Speed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US