Donald Trump’s Ohio campaign chair resigns over ‘no racism before Barack Obama’ comments

Kathy Miller steps down after interview sparks outrage

‘If you’re black and you haven’t been successful, it's your own fault’, Kathy Miller said (The Guardian)

The chair of Donald Trump’s campaign in an Ohio county has resigned after she claimed there was “no racism” until President Barack Obama was elected.

Kathy Miller’s resignation came hours after an interview was published in which she also said black people had themselves to blame if they “hadn’t been successful in the last 50 years”.

In a statement, Ms Miller said: “My personal comments were inappropriate, and I apologise. I am not a spokesperson for the campaign and was not speaking on its behalf. I have resigned as the volunteer campaign chair in Mahoning County and as an elector to the Electoral College to avoid any unnecessary distractions.”

In the interview with The Guardian Ms Miller said: “I don’t think there was any racism until Obama got elected. We never had problems like this.

“Now with the people with the guns and shooting up neighbourhoods and not being responsible citizens, that’s a big change. That’s the philosophy that Obama has perpetuated on America. I think that is all his responsibility.”

She added: “If you’re black and you haven’t been successful in the last 50 years, it’s your own fault.”

The interview prompted rapid action from Mr Trump’s campaign, which has struggled to attract black voters and will see Ohio as a crucial state to win.

Around 12.5 per cent of Ohio’s population is black, and no Republican candidate has ever become president without winning the state.

According to The Guardian, around 6,000 registered Democrat voters have switched party allegiance to the Republicans so they can vote for Mr Trump.

But following her resignation, Ms Miller, who works as an estate agent, defended her argument and took aim at the Black Lives Matter movement which has protested police shootings of black people in the US.

“In the last 30 years before Obama, what has happened that has been racism?” she asked in an interview with the Huffington Post.

“What has changed is we are more fragmented than we were before. And the comment about Black Lives Matter – what is wrong with ‘all lives matter’?

“To focus in on a narrow point of view has got people going in different directions. When someone calls me to buy a house, I don’t ask what their nationality is. I don’t do that. That’s not what I do.”

Asked if she thought her comments were offensive to black voters, she replied: “They haven’t called to tell me that.”