CHARLESTON, United States: US Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley on Saturday lashed out at rival Donald Trump for making what she called "disgusting" comments about Black Americans.
Trump, who defeated Haley in Saturday's nominating contest in South Carolina, suggested that Black voters favor him because they can relate to his troubles with the law.
"It's disgusting. But that's what happens when he goes off the teleprompter. That's the chaos that comes with Donald Trump," Haley said at a polling station in her home state.
"That's the offensiveness that's going to happen every day between now and the general election, which is why I continue to say Donald Trump cannot win a general election," she added.
Trump made the comments Friday evening in a speech to Black conservatives.
The 77-year-old, who faces four criminal indictments, including on charges of conspiracy and vote rigging, suggested that "Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I'm being discriminated against."
He also claimed that Black voters appreciate his police photo, taken at a Georgia jail, more than anybody else.
"The mug shot, we've all seen the mug shot, and you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The Black population. It's incredible," he said.
The remarks drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.
"Last night in South Carolina, Donald Trump stood on stage to make shameful, racist comments that tap into a hatred and divisiveness that is the very worst of us," said President Joe Biden in a campaign email.
Earlier in the week, Trump compared his legal troubles to the persecution of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, whose recent sudden death in an Arctic prison has been linked by Biden and other Western leaders to the Kremlin.--AFP