Charles Barkley faults Donald Trump for making racists feel comfortable: ‘You used to have to hide it’

Charles Barkley believes Donald Trump gets away with making offensive comments because he gave racists a green light to say offensive things.

Barkley joined a recent episode of The Chris Cuomo Project where they discussed Trump’s treatment of the media. Cuomo asked specifically about the incident where Trump yelled “Quiet, piggy!” when Bloomberg’s White House correspondent Catherine Lucey asked a question about the Epstein files.

Charles Barkley on Donald Trump calling a reporter “piggy”

“Can you imagine President Obama saying that to a white woman? Call her Miss Piggy? If President Obama called a white woman Miss Piggy, America would be up in arms and be like, ‘Can you believe this dude said that?”

“I… https://t.co/D12PxUhszC pic.twitter.com/MH5Ll6aShu

— NBABase (@TheNBABase) October 2, 2026

“Can you imagine President Obama saying that to a white woman?” Barkley asked. “Call her Miss Piggy? If President Obama called a white woman Miss Piggy, America would be up in arms and be like, ‘Can you believe this dude said that?'”

Cuomo asked why Trump can get away with this type of behavior when other presidents and public officials never could. Barkley’s answer was simple: Trump gets away with it because his vulgarity has essentially authorized the general public to follow his lead.

“The one thing that makes me sad, these people out here now, you used to have to be quiet when you were racist. You don’t have to be quiet anymore,” Barkley said. “I think that’s why he’s gotten away with more. People who are racist, they feel confident and comfortable being racist. There was a time you used to have to hide it. There were always racists, but they used to be able to hide it. But he’s made it comfortable, and that’s why he’s able to get away with a lot more.”

A president is supposed to have decency and dignity, and Trump doesn’t. Previously, even if you disagreed with a president’s policies, you could still respect the office. But it’s hard to respect Trump’s office when he doesn’t respect anyone else.