Story highlights Carl Paladino ran for governor of New York in 2010 and worked for Donald Trump's campaign

"I certainly am not a racist," Paladino said

(CNN) A Donald Trump ally and former Republican gubernatorial candidate apologized Tuesday for remarks he made to a weekly paper in Buffalo about President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, saying, "I certainly am not a racist."

In his statement provided to CNN affiliate WKBW, Carl Paladino apologized to "the minority community who I spent years trying to help out of the cycle of poverty in our inner cities."

Paladino, a member of the Buffalo Board of Education, added: "I did not mean to send those answers to Artvoice. Not that it makes any difference because what I wrote was inappropriate under any circumstance. I filled out the survey to send to a couple friends and forwarded it to them not realizing that I didn't hit 'forward' I hit 'reply.' All men make mistakes."

Paladino told Artvoice.com that Michelle Obama was the person whom he would "most like to see go in 2017."

"I'd like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla," Paladino said.

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