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TV reality star from Youngstown campaigning for Trump, her mentor
YOUNGSTOWN
Omarosa Manigault said Donald Trump, her mentor and the Republican presidential front-runner, will earn the needed delegates to be the GOP nominee before the party’s convention in mid-July.
“He’ll easily have 1,300 to 1,400 delegates,” said the former three-time “Apprentice” show contestant and Youngstown native. “I’m not concerned at all about a contested convention. We’ll get to 1,237 easily.”
Trump, the billionaire businessman and former reality TV show host, has 845 delegates, well ahead of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with 559 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 148. There are 15 remaining states with 674 bound delegates left in the race for the Republican nomination. Cruz, Kasich and those part of the “Never Trump” movement are trying to stop the billionaire from getting to 1,237 delegates to have a contested Republican National Convention in Cleveland that starts July 18.
Born and raised in Youngstown, Manigault is perhaps the most famous contestant from “The Apprentice,” the reality show hosted by Trump. She was on the show’s inaugural season that began in January 2004. She’s also appeared on numerous other reality shows including “Celebrity Apprentice” twice.
Manigault said she’s been very busy as a Trump surrogate, and serves as vice chairwoman of his National Diversity Coalition.
“It’s been a journey,” she said. “I’ve been around Donald going on 13 years. He is exceptional at everything he does. He’s an incredible mentor and friend to me.”
The bombastic braggart that people see on television is just a small part of the real Trump, Manigault said.
“He’s so personable, and he has a big heart,” she said. “He loves people. He affects people on all levels from the construction workers on 125th Street to the stockbrokers on Wall Street.”
As for some of the outrageous things Trump has said, Manigault said: “Nothing Donald says surprises me. He’s an impressive showman. He knows how to be the main headliner not only around the country, but around the world. This guy is a branding genius. He’s had billions of dollars of free media. There’s an art form to that.”
She said she supports Trump’s proposal to build a wall between the United States and Mexico to supposedly keep Mexicans from illegally entering this country.
“I live in Los Angeles, and we have an incredible flow of illegal immigrants over the border,” Manigault said. “Donald Trump speaks to my issues, including immigration. That border needs to be reinforced. We need better border security. It’s a simple concept.”
Manigault said she is convinced Trump will be elected president.
“We’re going all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue,” she said. “My political GPS is set for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,” the address for the White House. “It’s the only focus for Donald.”
Manigault worked as an aide in the President Bill Clinton administration, and while she’s a Democrat, she is backing Trump.
“The wonderful thing about this country is we have the right to choose who we want to support and who we don’t want to support,” she said. “We shouldn’t expect that every black person in America should vote for Hillary Clinton. I think she’s a very powerful woman, and she brings a lot to the table. But I choose to stand by my good friend Donald J. Trump.
“There’s a lot of work to do, and he’s the most-capable person to do it.”
When she’s not on the campaign stump for Trump, Manigault keeps herself busy as an ordained Baptist minister, and teaches branding and marketing in the executive MBA program at Howard University, her alma mater.
She said she visits Youngstown about two or three times a year and will attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.