Penn Jillette says he is confident that President Trump made “racially insensitive” remarks during his 2012 stint on “Celebrity Apprentice,” but refuses to give details because he’s an “unreliable narrator.”
The Las Vegas magician joined former Trump aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman on Tuesday with claims that the billionaire was “insensitive” toward minorities. The other half of “Penn & Teller,” however, has a credibility problem: He told Vulture magazine that storytellers like himself are “liars” who shouldn’t provide details.
“What I’m trying to do here is tell you the story emotionally without telling you specifics,” he told Vulture for an interview published Tuesday. “I would not feel comfortable talking about what I felt I saw in that room — because when I was on that show I was sleeping four to five hours a night.”
The magician said “the stakes are higher” now that Mr. Trump is the commander in chief, which dictates that he not attempt to give specifics.
“If Donald Trump had not become president, I would tell you all the stories. But the stakes are now high and I am an unreliable narrator,” he said. “He would say racially insensitive things that made me uncomfortable. I don’t think he ever said anything in that room like ’African-Americans are inferior’ or anything about rape or grabbing women, but of those two hours every other day in a room with him, every ten minutes was fingernails on chalkboard. He would ask one cast member if he’d rather have sex with this woman or that woman.”
Mrs. Manigault-Newman and other critics of the president allege that “Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett is in possession of an infamous “N-word” tape.
The president cited Mr. Burnett on Tuesday while vehemently denying such audio exists.
SEE ALSO: Frank Luntz blasts Omarosa for Trump ‘N-word’ claim in ‘Unhinged’ book: ‘Flat-out false’
“.@MarkBurnettTV 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,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “I don’t have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up. Look at her MANY recent quotes saying.”
.@MarkBurnettTV 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. I don’t have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up. Look at her MANY recent quotes saying….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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