Larry King reacts to media uproar on his Donald Trump comment

Larry King reacts to the media uproar following his comments to MSNBC on the Donald Trump campaign.

By Bronte Price, PoliticKING


Larry King made waves on Wednesday after telling Steve Kornacki on MSNBC that Donald Trump is not a racist.  King, who has a longtime friendship with Trump, admits he has trouble reconciling the Donald Trump he knows with the campaign rhetoric he sometimes hears from the GOP front runner, but maintains his point that Trump’s comments aren’t always reflective of his beliefs.  “I know him personally,” Larry said.  “I spoke to him a couple weeks ago. He said we’re on an unbelievable ride.”  Larry added that he enjoys Donald’s company:  “He’s a good guy.  He’s not a racist.  He’s not.  He plays to that crowd."  Larry says he stays in the middle, and tries to be “politically removed,” although he admits to being baffled by Donald Trump’s campaign.  “It’s modern media exploding,” he told Kornacki,  adding, “it’s almost cartoonish in a sense.”

While interviewing talk show host Tavis Smiley on Ora Tv’s PoliticKING, Larry discussed his comments to MSNBC. “What I should have elaborated is that the Donald I know, I’ve never heard him say a racist thing,” Larry said. “To me, he has employees of all stripes, they all like him. But he has said things that appeal to the racist element. I should have said that.”

“I think he’s in a runaway campaign where he finds himself, maybe surprisingly. And he’s saying things that will appeal to them,” Larry said. “I mean I can’t get into his skin.”

Tavis Smiley told Larry that he is also trying to understand Trump’s campaign. “I'm constantly talking to friends of Trump trying to make sense of this because, it doesn't make sense to me,” he said.  He also elaborated on his recent comments on Trump, causing a heated back-and-forth between the two. “What I said days ago, and I stand by it,” Tavis told Larry, “is that Donald Trump is a racial arsonist.”

You can watch their conversation below:

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