'She made it up': Trump and his aides go nuclear after Omarosa claims to have heard him say the N-word on tape
- Omarosa Manigault-Newman claimed she heard Donald Trump saying the N-word "multiple times" in a three-minute recording.
- She added that the remarks were made in reference to Kwame Jackson, an African American contestant on NBC's show, "The Apprentice."
- Trump and another official fired back at her claims and called the alleged slurs "disgusting."
- Manigault-Newman did not identify the person who allegedly played the recording for her, but at least three longtime Trump aides told The Huffington Post that she told them that it was Troy McClain, a former "Apprentice" contestant.
- McClain laughed at the notion that he played the recording for Manigault-Newman, according to HuffPost: "You've got to be bullsh---ng me. Is this a joke?"
- The man who Manigault-Newman alleged was in possession of the tape denied ever having had the tape, according to a Trump official who claimed to have spoken to the man.
President Donald Trump and another official slapped away Omarosa Manigault-Newman's claims that she heard him say the N-word as a private citizen during the filming of the NBC reality show, "The Apprentice."
The re-emerged in recent days, amid the release of her tell-all book, "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the White House."
"[MGM chairman Mark Burnett] called to say that there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa," Trump said on Twitter. "I don't have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up."
"Look at her MANY recent quotes saying such wonderful and powerful things about me - a true Champion of Civil Rights - until she got fired," Trump added. "Omarosa had Zero credibility with the Media (they didn't want interviews) when she worked in the White House. Now that she says bad about me, they will talk to her."
Manigault-Newman, the former communications director for the White House Office of Public Liaison, claimed she heard Trump saying racially derogatory remarks, specifically the N-word, "multiple times" in a three-minute recording.
She added that the remarks were made in reference to Kwame Jackson, an African American contestant on the show.
"It sounded as if [Trump] used [the N-word] everyday," Manigault-Newman said on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on Monday night. "It rolled off his mouth ... you'd never imagine he'd talk that way."
Upon hearing the allegations, Manigault-Newman said she was shocked and brushed them off prior to hearing the tape for herself.
"My first reaction to it was 'this can't be true,'" she said. "My first instinct was to protect [Trump], and not to dive deeper, because I dismissed it as untrue."
"It's amazing that for two years these folks have been reaching out to me, and I guess I was in denial," Manigault-Newman added. "I certainly didn't want to engage with people who I thought was trying to bring Trump down."
Manigault-Newman did not identify the source who allegedly played the tape for her, but at least three longtime Trump aides told The Huffington Post that she told them it was Troy McClain, a former "Apprentice" contestant.
McClain admitted he met with Manigault-Newman at the White House in December; however, he laughed at the notion that he played the tape for her, according to HuffPost: "You've got to be bullsh---ng me. Is this a joke," he reportedly said.
Manigault-Newman also noted in the MSNBC interview that Bill Pruitt, a producer on the show who previously teased that "there are far worse" incriminating tapes, was in possession of the tapes that contain the alleged remarks.
However, Pruitt denied he was in possession of the tapes, HuffPost reported. He also denied having ever possessed the tape, according to a statement by Lynne Patton, a regional director at the Department of Housing and Urban Development who spoke with him on Monday.
"Based upon her conflicting accounts and the newfound information ... it should be abundantly clear to everyone that not only is her book a complete work of fiction, but that the existence of this elusive 'N-word' tape is a figment of her imagination and merely a destructive took of manipulation applied on when it best serves her interests," Patton said in her statement.
Manigault-Newman did note that her source for the tape was "terrified" to come forward, and teased they could be holding onto to it for "politically motivated" reasons ahead of the midterm elections.
The former official launched a media frenzy amid the release of her book that paints the Trump administration in an unflattering light. On Sunday, she released an audio recording between her and White House chief of staff John Kelly inside the Situation Room, sparking security concerns for officials who are bound by an honor-code not to bring recording devices aboard the secure facility.
"But I will say this to you, I was complicit with this White House deceiving this nation," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
"They continue to deceive this nation by how mentally declined he is," Manigault-Newman added, "how difficult it is for him to process complex information. How he is not engaged in some of the most important decisions that impacts our country. I was complicit, and for that I regret."