Donald Trump calls former aide Omarosa a 'dog,' triggering outrage

Show Caption Hide Caption Omarosa vs. the Trump Administration Omarosa has revealed that she secretly recorded numerous people within the Donald Trump administration. The announcement fell during the same week of the schedule release of her book "Unhinged." Now, the White House is firing back.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday called Omarosa Manigault Newman a "dog" on Twitter, prompting outrage by critics who said the comment was a racially charged attack on the former aide, who is a black woman.

The comment came amid the revelation of a new tape featuring a discussion among Trump campaign aides that suggested he had used a racial slur to describe black people. It also came amid back-and-forth attacks between Trump and Manigault Newman, who has written a book, "Unhinged," about her tenure that is highly critical of the president.

The Trump campaign said Tuesday that it filed arbitration against Manigault Newman for violating a confidentiality agreement she signed in 2016.

"When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out," the president tweeted about Manigault Newman. "Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!"

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The reference is to White House chief of staff (and retired general) John Kelly, who fired Manigault Newman last year.

Trump's attack stirred an immediate backlash from both sides of the aisle.

"This kind of language is unbecoming of a President of the United States," Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said on Twitter. "There is no excuse for it, and Republicans should not be okay with it."

“How dare he? How dare he call anyone a dog,” Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democratic lawmaker and a black woman, said on CNN. “We already have racism raining down all over America.”

When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump does not regret the tweet, and is "certainly voicing his frustration" at what he sees as a dishonest book. Sanders said the president feels like he has to respond because the media is providing "a large platform" for Manigault Newman.

Sanders said the "dog" comment has "nothing to do withe race," but rather Manigault Newman's "lack of integrity." She said Trump has attacked critics of all races and genders.

"He always fights fire with fire," Sanders said.

Sanders said she has never heard Trump use the "n" word, as Manigault Newman accused him of doing during an outtake on The Apprentice.

Asked if she could guarantee that Americans would never hear Trump on a tape using the racial slur, Sanders said, "I can't guarantee anything, but I can tell you that the President addressed this question directly. I can tell you that I've never heard it."

Talk show host Montel Williams was among those expressing dismay over Trump's comments.

"The President of the United States called a black woman a “dog” on twitter this morning. I grew up during Jim Crow - I heard him clearly," he said. "(For the record I find Omarosa beneath contempt.)"

The President of the United States called a black woman a “dog” on twitter this morning. I grew up during Jim Crow - I heard him clearly.



(For the record I find Omarosa beneath contempt.) pic.twitter.com/EU4cI7WB4C — Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) August 14, 2018

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson accused the president of being racist in his remarks.

"The president of the United States just referred to the former highest-ranking (and only) African American woman in his administration as a 'crazed, crying lowlife' and 'that dog!'" he wrote. "He's hanging a 'Whites Only' sign on the GOP."

The offices of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both declined to comment.

Trump has been accused in other instances of using racially charged insults. He has repeatedly referred to Rep. Maxine Waters, a black woman, as "low IQ." In announcing his presidential bid in 2015, he called Mexican immigrants "rapists" and "criminals."

It's far from the first time the president has called someone a "dog," and the word isn't limited to women or people of color. In 2012, he commented on actress Kristen Stewart cheating on Robert Pattinson "like a dog." In 2013, rapper Mac Miller was called an "ungrateful dog." In 2015, Trump said conservative political commentator Glenn Beck had been "fired like a dog" by Fox News.

And later in 2015, just a couple months out from announcing his presidential campaign, he called media mogul Arianna Huffington a "dog who wrongfully comments on me."

Trump has drawn criticism in particular for the insults he's lobbed at women and people of color.

"You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals," then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly told Trump at the first GOP candidate debate in 2015.

"Only Rosie O'Donnell," he retorted.