--- title: Lawmaker Says Trump Shouldn't Be 'Berated' for Alleged N-Word description: Georgia Sen. Michael Williams said President Donald Trump's alleged use of the n-word should be held separate from his ability to govern. canonical: https://time.com/5371071/michael-williams-trump-n-word/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-18T18:08:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:11:04.239Z article:section: Politics og:title: State Senator: Trump Shouldn't Be 'Berated' for Alleged N-Word Use og:description: He said it's separate from his ability to run the country og:url: https://time.com/5371071/michael-williams-trump-n-word/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cfc536bd35e6b68/6989380a457a52721dd5f21e/donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Trump Departs The White House For The Weekend og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: State Senator: Trump Shouldn't Be 'Berated' for Alleged N-Word Use twitter:description: He said it's separate from his ability to run the country twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cfc536bd35e6b68/6989380a457a52721dd5f21e/donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Georgia Lawmaker Says President Trump's Alleged N-Word Use Should Be Held Separate From His Presidency > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d9e7c32d-c038-4d88-b3cd-9657738f90c2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Aug 18, 2018 6:08 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing on Marine One to travel to New York, at the White House on August 17, 2018. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing on Marine One to travel to New York, at the White House on August 17, 2018. Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Aug 18, 2018 6:08 PM UTC Georgia State Sen. Michael Williams said President Donald Trump’s alleged use of the N-word should be held separate from his ability to run the country. Trump “has his personal beliefs, his personal ideas. I truly believe he is able to separate those from how he is running the country,” Williams said on [CNN’s _New Day Saturday_](https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/18/politics/georgia-senator-trump-racial-slur-cnntv/index.html). Williams also said that, while using the N-word is “always wrong” and “bad,” it would not necessarily affect Trump’s presidency. “I will always say using the N-word is wrong, and it’s bad, and should never be accepted in our society. But just because \[Trump\] might have done it years ago, not as our president, doesn’t mean we need to continue to berate him because he used it,” Williams said. He added that, “To hold somebody accountable for something he did years ago as our President today, I think it sets a bad precedent.” The controversy around Trump’s alleged use of the racial slur began with a claim from former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman, who said Trump used the word on the set of _The Apprentice._ Newman also said a recording of the incident exists. Trump [has denied using the slur](http://time.com/5366479/trump-omarosa-dog/), and said that no such tape exists. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1029183344397955074) White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said [she “can’t guarantee”](http://time.com/5367143/omarosa-manigault-donald-trump-tape-n-word-sarah-sanders/) that a recording does not exist, but said she has “never heard him use that term or anything similar.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5371071/michael-williams-trump-n-word/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5371071/michael-williams-trump-n-word/"},"headline":"Georgia Lawmaker Says President Trump's Alleged N-Word Use Should Be Held Separate From His Presidency","datePublished":"2018-08-18T18:08:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:11:04.239Z","description":"Holding him accountable 'sets a bad precedent'","url":"https://time.com/5371071/michael-williams-trump-n-word/","keywords":["Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cfc536bd35e6b68/6989380a457a52721dd5f21e/donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cfc536bd35e6b68/6989380a457a52721dd5f21e/donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Departs The White House For The Weekend","caption":"President Trump Departs The White House For The Weekend","creditText":"Mark Wilson—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":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5371071/michael-williams-trump-n-word/","name":"Georgia Lawmaker Says President Trump's Alleged N-Word Use Should Be Held Separate From His Presidency"}}]}] ```