Sherrod Brown: ‘We have a president who’s a racist’

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Sunday that President Trump is a racist. 

“This country hasn’t dealt well with issues of race. We have a president who’s a racist,” Brown, who is considering running for president in 2020, said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Host Chuck Todd then pressed Brown over whether he believes that Trump “in his heart” is a racist.

{mosads}Brown pointed to Trump’s past claims that former President Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. and allegations that he discriminated against black people as a real estate owner.

“I don’t know what ‘in his heart’ means. I know he built his political career knowing what he was doing in questioning the legitimacy and the birthplace of the president of the United States,” Brown said.

“There have been all kinds of news reports on what he did early in his career on housing,” he continued. “We know the president doesn’t tell the truth frequently. We know he lies frequently. And we know his racist comments and background.”

WATCH: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) tells @chucktodd “this country hasn’t dealt well with issues of race.”@SenSherrodBrown: “We have a president who’s a racist.” #MTP. pic.twitter.com/cNM1NhQpie

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 3, 2019

Trump for years promoted the debunked claim that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. 

Additionally, the Department of Justice in 1973 sued the Trump Management Corporation over violations of the Fair Housing Act, alleging that he discriminated against black people.  

Brown has previously called Trump a racist, saying earlier this month in an interview with CNN’s Van Jones that it’s “self evident” that Trump is racist.