Donald Trump doubles down, insists racist Donald Sterling rant recording 'was a total set-up' captured by 'the girlfriend from hell'

Donald Trump told Fox & Friends he was disgusted by the LA Clippers owner's audiotaped slam on African-Americans



But he also said the woman who allegedly made the recording was 'the girlfriend from hell' and that Sterling 'got set up'



Now he tells MailOnline exclusively that he wasn't mistaken: 'The girl set him up, in my opinion. She set him up. That's what I'm saying'



Trump complained that some media outlets ignored the scorn he heaped on Sterling for being a racist – and for choosing the wrong lover

'I were a liberal Democrat, and I made the exact same statements ... it would have been treated much different,' he jabbed



Donald Trump told MailOnline on Tuesday that he wasn't mistaken when he said Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling 'got set up' by a vindictive girlfriend, but blames partisan media outlets for turning the offhand comment into a publicity firestorm.

'It was a total set-up,' he insisted during an interview in his Trump Tower office. 'The girl set him up, in my opinion. She set him up. That's what I'm saying. He was set up by her.'

Trump first made the claim during a Fox News Channel interview Monday morning, during a segment in which he also called Sterling's words about black people 'despicable.'



At the end of that interview, he declared that Vanessa Stiviano, who allegedly made the now-infamous recording, was 'the girlfriend from hell, and that Sterling 'got set up by a very, very bad girlfriend, let's face it.'

'She was baiting him,' Trump added, 'and she's a terrible human being. And he gave horrible answers, and disgusting answers.'

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Trump, in his 26th floor Manhattan office, told MailOnline that left-leaning media failed to report how he was critical of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling following his alleged racist remarks

Trump waded into the Donald Sterling controversy on Monday but was later hammered for an offhand comment he made -- one he stands by

The comments came just hours before NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Sterling's remarks 'deeply offensive and hurtful,' banning the 81-year-old from the NBA for life and fining him $2.5 million.

'I was criticizing him,' Trump insisted Tuedsay. 'But in addition, I was criticizing him for having this girlfriend, who was bad. She was bad news, okay?'

On Fox, Trump had speculated that Sterling was 'close to incompetent' and 'led along by somebody who was so obviously looking to do harm to him.'



On Tuesday he blamed the previous day's negative attention on 'dishonest reporters.'



'It shows the dishonesty of much of the media,' Trump told MailOnline, 'because I gave 'em a long segment about Donald Sterling, about how despicable it is – what he said – and harsh action has to be taken, and just at the end I said, "And by the way, he has a girlfriend from hell."'

'It was a total set-up,' Trump insisted Tuesday. 'The girl set him up, in my opinion. She set him up. That's what I'm saying.' He blamed Sterling for choosing 'the girlfriend from hell'

'I always get a disproportionate amount of publicity,' he acknowledged, 'but I find that if I were a liberal Democrat, and I made the exact same statements that I made about Donald Sterling – and I'm not a fan, you understand that – it would have been treated much different, of course. ... It probably wouldn't have been a story.'

Trump, who has nibbled around the edges of presidential politics, told MailOnline that it was still 'too early' for him to decide whether to make a White House run. He insisted that he would only do it 'for love of country,'



Sterling has been widely condemned after Friday's release of the audio recording, in which a voice sounding like his tells Ms. Stiviano that she cannot bring black people to his basketball games or be photographed with them.

The male voice can be heard specifically talking about Magic Johnson – telling Stiviano, who is black and Mexican, that he doesn't want her 'associating with black people.'



'What he said was terrible and despicable and very strong action is going to be taken. There’s no question about it,' Trump said on Fox.



He added that in his opinion, Sterling 'could be out of it, frankly, based on his actions. He could be pretty much out of it in terms of his whole mentality.'

The NAACP said Tuesday that it wants a meeting with Silver to discuss the episode.

United: Donald Sterling spotted leaving a Steak House with his wife Rochelle in El Segundo, Los Angeles. The disgraced owner of the LA Clippers came out of hiding just a day after a recorded phone conversation of Sterling making racist comments were released

Lastest lawsuit: Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and Vanessa Stiviano, who is being sued by Sterling's estranged wife Rochelle for $1.8 million and who allegedly recorded him making racist remarks

Roslyn M. Brock, the chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors said the group wants to address 'the influence and impact of racism in the National Basketball Association.'

The organization's Los Angeles chapter has withdrawn its decision to give Sterling a lifetime achievement award, and returned money he donated.



Sterling also made less public donations to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, to the city's Black Business Association, and to the United Negro College Fund.

The UNCF told MailOnline on Monday that it would not return the $50,000 Sterling donated, since it was earmarked for scholarships.

