News broke early that the comedian was meeting with Donald Trump inside Trump Tower, and it was confirmed once the two stepped out for a mini-press conference and an awkward photo-op following the meeting.
The backlash was swift, forcing Harvey to release a statement explaining why he chose to meet Trump.
My meeting with @realDonaldTrump … pic.twitter.com/Tz2O2W3a5n
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) January 13, 2017
“Our president (Obama) asked that all of us sit down and talk to one another in order to move our country forward,” the Family Feud said, referring to President Obama’s farewell speech from earlier this week. “The transition teams on both sides asked me to meet and I’m glad I did.”
Harvey said that Trump “immediately got Dr. Ben Carson on the phone to begin dialog in looking for programs and housing to help our inner cities.”
He added, “I walked away feeling like I had just talked with a man who genuinely wants to make a difference in this area. I feel that something really great could come out of this.”
His final thoughts: “I would sit with him anytime.”
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Fellow comedian D.L. Hughley took to his Instagram to state his disapproval of the meeting, basically saying the Trump was only interested in taking pictures with rappers, athletes and comedians:
Let’s just say that explanation did not help Harvey’s case much, especially since he is already under scrutiny for his comments on Asian men earlier this week. On his syndicated talk show, he mocked a book about dating Asian men by saying a white woman’s one-word response to such an arrangement would be “No,” before mimicking a black woman saying, “I don’t even eat Chinese food, boy, it don’t stay with you no time. I don’t eat what I can’t pronounce.”
