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Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed the idea that he'd be supported by the Black Lives Matter movement, a group that he's treated as a public enemy for years.
He was responding to an interview that Maryland activist Mark Fisher gave to "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday, during which Fisher expressed support for Trump and condemned the Democrat party.
Fisher was introduced by Fox as a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island.
"Personally I love the man. I mean," said Fisher. "How could you not like a real man? How could you not relate to someone like that?"
Trump then wrote on TruthSocial that he had spoken with Fisher, whom he called a "great guy."
"Very honored to have his and BLM's support," Trump said, before claiming to have "done more for Black people than any other President (Lincoln?)," an oft-disputed remark that he's regularly made in the last few years.
His response stands in stark contrast to his past comments about Black Lives Matter, which he'd criticized even before he became president and called a "symbol of hate."
That Trump even has support from Black Lives Matter is being disputed by leaders in the movement.
Gary Dantzler, the leader of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island, told the Providence Journal that Fisher wasn't a co-founder of the organization, but had worked under it for some months.
"Mark Fisher stated he was one of the co-founders of BLM," Dantzler told the outlet. "Absolutely not. He was a respected advocate for BLM. That's it. And he was paid and somewhere he got fired and demoted."
Fisher is listed as the founder of BLM Incorporated, an organization that says it exists to "assist" the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, the website also said it is "not affiliated with any other Black Lives Matter Movement." BLM Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
The Black Lives Matter Foundation also condemned Fisher's remarks in a statement to Business Insider.
"This is a publicity stunt," the statement said. "The right-wing continues to use and amplify fringe Black voices to create an idea of broad support for their corrupt candidates."
The statement called Fisher's organization "illegitimate," said it had no connection to the wider Black Lives Matter movement, while disputing that Fisher should be called a "Black Lives Matter leader."
"Anyone can start an organization and add the words Black Lives Matter to it in an attempt to muddy the waters of our movement, as Mark Fisher did," it said.
The statement then went on to blast Trump, calling him a "terrorist who committed treason and tried to subvert American democracy."
"He is no friend to Black people seeking to live in a just society," the it added.
A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is competing with Trump for the GOP nomination, jumped in on Trump's supposed approving message to Black Lives Matter.
He accused Trump of doing "nothing but sit in the White House tweeting" during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
"BLM praising Donald Trump — and Trump celebrating it — makes perfect sense," DeSantis wrote on X.
