Herman Cain: Donald Trump is not a racist

Herman Cain on Wednesday defended presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump against accusations that the candidate is racist.

“Donald Trump is not a racist,” Cain said when introducing Trump ahead of the candidate’s appearance in Atlanta Wednesday. “I grew up in Atlanta, Ga. I know what a racist looks like when I see one, and Donald Trump is not a racist.”

Cain, a 2012 candidate, said during his introduction he was looking to clear up one of the “biggest lies out there about Donald Trump.”

“At this particular point in our history, it is up to us to help get this nation to make the right decisions as to which fork in the road we’re going to take,” he said. “This presidential campaign has been blurred by the liberals, blurred by the Democrats, blurred by the progressives in order to try to label Donald Trump something that he’s not.”

He also criticized 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, saying he was “disappointed” Romney named Trump-inspired “trickle-down racism” among his reasons for not supporting him. Cain called it a “cutesy soundbite.”

Cain said he also wrote a commentary rebuking Romney.

“And it basically says, Mitt, you know nothing about racism,” Cain said Wednesday. “Allow me to explain it to you.”

Romney earlier this month called Trump a “dangerous” options for voters.

“Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation, and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, all these things are extremely dangerous to the heart and character of America,” he said on CNN.

Trump faced backlash after suggesting that an Indiana-born judge could be biased against him because of the judge’s Mexican heritage, with some lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, calling the comments racist.