Work on Trump’s heart, says Martin Luther King III

‘Donald is definitely not racist,’ claims ex-wife Ivana as son of civil rights activist joins criticism of president

DONALD TRUMP vehemently denied accusations of racism as the eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights icon, attacked him and said: “We have to work on this man’s heart.” The latest twist came as the row over whether President Trump disparaged African countries, Haiti, and El Salvador as “s--holes” looked set to destroy a deal with Democrats over immigration.

Mr Trump publicly denied making the remarks during an Oval Office meeting with Republican and Democrat senators last week.

“No, no, I’m not a racist,” Mr Trump said, adding that he was “the least racist person ever”. His ex-wife, Ivana, who was married to him for 15 years until 1992, came to Mr Trump’s defence, saying that he was “definitely not racist” and was a “nice guy”.

She told Good Morning Britain: “I don’t think Donald is racist at all. Sometimes he says things which are silly and he does not really mean them but he definitely is not racist.

“He has so many people telling him, left and right, what to say, what not to say, and maybe it gets confusing.”

She added: “He’s not going to change and I think the tweeting is actually not a bad idea as you speak to the press. The press change every word you say and they twist it. If he tweets, it’s out of his mouth. No, he is not that bad, he is actually a nice guy.”

However, Mr Trump faced a further wave of criticism yesterday, which was Martin Luther King Jr Day.

In a televised address marking the date of Dr King’s birth, Mr Trump said: “Dr King’s dream is our dream. It is the American dream. It’s the promise stitched into the fabric of our nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind.” But, speaking in Washington, Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Dr King, said: “When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don’t even think we need to spend any time talking about what it says and what it is. We got to find a way to work on this man’s heart.”

Mr Trump later attacked Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, who was at the meeting and accused Mr Trump of making “vile and racist” language.

The president wrote on Twitter: “Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the meeting. Deals can’t get made when there is no trust!”

The meeting at which the comments were reportedly made was an attempt to agree protection against deportation for the “Dreamers” – hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US illegally as children. Mr Trump said the deal was “probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it”.

He said Mr Durbin had “blown” the deal on the Dreamers and was “hurting our military”.