--- title: Donald Trump Backer Carl Paladino Defends Obama Comments description: A friend of President-elect Donald Trump is standing by controversial statements about President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama canonical: https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-24T16:20:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:27:48.296Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Backer Defends His Call for President Obama’s Death og:description: “I did it to wake people up; I did it to get people’s attention,” he said og:url: https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d9ecafdd7a2095/6988b3eae20a87a61ea9399b/gettyimages-627844782.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Backer Defends His Call for President Obama’s Death twitter:description: “I did it to wake people up; I did it to get people’s attention,” he said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d9ecafdd7a2095/6988b3eae20a87a61ea9399b/gettyimages-627844782.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Backer Carl Paladino Defends His Call for President Obama’s Death and Michelle Obama’s ‘Return’ to Africa ## Video: Donald Trump's Staff Picks [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump's Staff Picks](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hxBwlUGs.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2016-11-13. Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is headed to the White House, where she’ll serve as counselor to the president._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 24, 2016 4:20 PM UTC  Carl Paladino, former New York gubernatorial candidate, is seen in the lobby at Trump Tower, December 5, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. Drew Angerer—Getty Images Carl Paladino, former New York gubernatorial candidate, is seen in the lobby at Trump Tower, December 5, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesDrew Angerer—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 24, 2016 4:20 PM UTC A friend of President-elect Donald Trump is standing by statements he made to an [alternative weekly newspaper in Buffalo](http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-2017-lot-different-opinions/#.WF6XkXDphco) about President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, who he said he hopes “die” and get “let loose” in Africa. Carl Paladino was among many people who told [_Artvoice_](http://artvoice.com/2016/12/23/want-2017-lot-different-opinions/#.WF6XkXDphco) their wishes for 2017, but the response of the New York developer and onetime candidate for New York Governor has stirred the most controversy by far. For 2017, Paladino said he wishes for President Obama to die of mad cow disease after “being caught having relations with a Herford,” referring to the Hereford cow breed. The co-chair of Trump’s New York campaign also named the First Lady in his widely condemned comments. “I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla,” Paladino said. Paladino stood by his words in a statement to the [Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/12/23/trump-friend-and-n-y-campaign-co-chair-says-he-wants-obama-dead-of-mad-cow-disease-in-2017/?utm%5Fterm=.51402a6c09ef), denying that they were racist and rejecting the notion that they were bad for Trump. “It has nothing to do with race,” Paladino said. “It’s about 2 progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years.” Paladino also told the _Post_ that he is “active” with the president-elect. “I don’t think Mr. Trump particularly cares what I have to say,” he said. “He knows me. I was active with him, and I still am active with him.” A spokesperson for Trump denounced Paladino’s words in a statement reported by the New York [_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/nyregion/carl-paladino-trump-ally-wishes-obama-dead-and-aims-racial-insults-at-michelle-obama.html). “Carl’s comments are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse,” said Trump spokesperson Jessica Ditto. Others have denounced Paladino’s remarks, including [New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo](http://www.mediaite.com/online/ny-governor-cuomo-condemns-carl-paladino-for-racist-ugly-remarks-about-the-obamas/), who called the words “racist, ugly, and reprehensible” in a statement. “While most New Yorkers know Mr. Paladino is not to be taken seriously, as his erratic behavior defies any rational analysis and he has no credibility, his words are still jarring,” Cuomo said. In several interviews after the release by _Artvoice_, Paladino has said he meant to cast light on the president’s “transgressions” and called them “old style humor.” “I did it to wake people up; I did it to get people’s attention,” Paladino told the [_Times._](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/nyregion/carl-paladino-trump-ally-wishes-obama-dead-and-aims-racial-insults-at-michelle-obama.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Backer Carl Paladino Defends His Call for President Obama’s Death and Michelle Obama’s ‘Return’ to Africa","datePublished":"2016-12-24T16:20:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:27:48.296Z","description":"“I did it to wake people up; I did it to get people’s attention,” he said","url":"https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/","keywords":["White House","New York","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d9ecafdd7a2095/6988b3eae20a87a61ea9399b/gettyimages-627844782.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d9ecafdd7a2095/6988b3eae20a87a61ea9399b/gettyimages-627844782.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower","caption":"President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/","name":"Donald Trump Backer Carl Paladino Defends His Call for President Obama’s Death and Michelle Obama’s ‘Return’ to Africa"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Trump's Staff Picks","description":"Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is headed to the White House, where she’ll serve as counselor to the president.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hxBwlUGs/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-11-13T23:25:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hxBwlUGs.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4617689/donald-trump-carl-paladino-obama/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```