Omarosa Manigault, White House director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, appeared Friday on "The View," where she rejected co-host Sunny Hostin's assertion that President Trump is using her for "optics" and does not care about the African-American community.
"The criticism has been that he's just using you for optics and that he doesn't really care about the black community," Hostin said.
Omarosa, who prefers going by her first name only, began her response by establishing a historical context, telling Hostin that African Americans traditionally vote for the Democratic Party 94 or 95 percent of the time and that Trump received 13 percent of the black vote, doubling Mitt Romney's numbers from 2012. She then pushed back against Hostin's "optics" comment.
"First of all, no one uses me. No one uses me," Omarosa said.
Omarosa described her childhood and said she was the embodiment of the "American Dream" after she growing up on welfare, living in Section 8 housing, attending public schools, and losing her father at an early age. Omarosa then received applause after she told Hostin that she "earned [her] way to sit in the White House, nobody gave it to [her]."
Omarosa then switched topics and started talking about the black community under the Obama Administration and how the president did not aggressively reach out to them, which she said resulted in violence and unemployment. Co-host Joy Behar kept trying to interrupt her, but Omarosa continued to talk and reflect on her own experience.
"My brother was murdered, not even five years ago, shot dead in his own home," Omarosa said. "When I see these families in Chicago, 700 or 800 families, had to go through what my family went through, I had to sit in the courtroom with the man that murdered my brother. This is more than just politics. For me, Joy, this is my passion."
"I understand what you are saying. I'm questioning why do you think you are able to make it and all these other people could not?" Behar asked.
Omarosa said that she would need a longer segment to explain that and then dismissed Behar's follow-up question about "racism" being a cause.
"I was able to make it because my mother made sure that we were at the church, that Christ was the head of our lives, that education was at the top of every single thing that we did, and she kept us out of trouble and out of the streets," Omarosa said. "That's why I made it ... My mother and the sacrifice she made after my father was murdered is the reason that I am successful today."
Near the end of the segment, Omarosa was talking about her friendship with Trump and pointed out that others know him as a business mogul and entertainer, but that they do not know his heart or the things that he has done to help others. Behar kept interrupting, but Omarosa threw a jab at her.
"Joy, I know that it's got to be really, really hard after the last year and a half of all the things that you said about Donald to see him sitting in the Oval Office. I know it's got to be hard for you," Omarosa said.
"It is hard. It kills me, as a matter fact," Behar said.
"I know it does," Omarosa responded.