Hatch ‘not comfortable’ with Trump calling Omarosa a ‘dog’

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Wednesday he’s “not comfortable” with President Trump labeling former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman a “dog.”

“I don’t think words like that should be used, especially by the president,” Hatch, who is retiring after this Congress, told CNN’s Manu Raju.

“I have a lot of regard for the president, I understand how snotty some of this stuff is that they do to him, but even then, I think he has to rise above that,” Hatch continued.

Orrin Hatch, an ally of Trump’s and president pro tempore, tells me this of Trump calling Omarosa a “dog:” “No, I’m not comfortable with that. I don’t think words like that should be used — especially by the president. … I think he should rise above that.” pic.twitter.com/skjAqgEfyD

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 15, 2018

Hatch is one of the few Republicans to speak out against Trump’s latest attack on Manigault Newman, who was once the president’s top-ranking African-American West Wing staffer.

{mosads}

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has also announced his retirement, on Tuesday called the term “unbecoming of a President of the United States.”

Manigault Newman, who rose to fame on “The Apprentice” and was fired from her White House job in December, has garnered headlines for claims in her new book, “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.” 

In the memoir, she alleges Trump is a racist, a misogynist and a narcissist, and claims he repeatedly used the “N-word” on the set of “The Apprentice.” She said in recent interviews that she has heard tapes documenting Trump’s use of the racial slur since her book went to print.

Trump has claimed no such tapes exist, adding that the word is not in his vocabulary.

He has lashed out at his former staffer, calling her a “lowlife” and “wacky and deranged.” On Tuesday, he praised chief of staff for “quickly firing that dog.”

The White House denied that Trump’s use of the latter term had anything to do with race, arguing he was just voicing his frustration.

“The president is an equal-opportunity person who calls things like he sees it,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, adding that Trump will always “fight fire with fire.”

The president’s attacks on Manigault Newman and the charges in her book have renewed criticism of Trump’s charged rhetoric, particularly toward African-Americans. In the past two weeks, he has called Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) “low IQ,” and CNN host Don Lemon and NBA star LeBron James “dumb.” All three are black.

The president drew widespread bipartisan criticism earlier this year when he referred to Haiti and some African nations as “shithole countries.”