Donald Trump and his mainly white crowd turned around to applaud a group of black supporters at a rally.

The crowd clapped and cheered around a dozen people of colour wearing and waving T-shirts with the slogan: “TRUMP & Republicans Are Not RACIST.”

The president had been talking about the beneficiaries of criminal justice reform when he turned to the small group, pointed at them and mouthed “thank you”.

A separate clip posted by ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott showed the same small group getting applause from the hall for waving their T-shirts while music played at the rally.

It comes only two weeks after the “send her back” chants at his North Carolina rally, which followed Mr Trump’s now notorious “go back” tweets about four congresswomen of colour.

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“Some of the most popular people at Trump rallies are the small collection of non-white folks,” The New York Times reporter Astead Herndon tweeted.

“In Greenville last week one black guy was holding a small selfie line for literally no other reason than he was a black Trump supporter.”

The president’s speech was interrupted twice by activists demonstrating against his anti-immigration policies, with one pause lasting around four minutes as several protesters were escorted out of the building.

The rally was the first for Trump since the “send her back” chant in North Carolina, denounced by Democrats and criticised by several Republicans.

Although he referred to “four left-wing extremists” whom he claimed were leading the Democrats, it did not lead to further chants by the crowd in Cincinnati.