(Bloomberg) -- The White House denounced Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s assertion that his criminal indictments have increased his support among Black voters.

“It is repugnant and divisive to traffic in racist stereotypes,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday. “In any context, it is profane to compare the long, painful history of abuse and discrimination suffered by Black Americans to something totally different for self-serving purposes.”

Trump on Friday likened his legal troubles with the history of anti-Black discrimination in the US criminal justice system. The former president faces 91 criminal charges in four separate indictments. Trump has said he is being politically persecuted, without providing evidence President Joe Biden influenced the charging decisions.

“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time, and a lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against,” Trump said at the Black Conservative Federation’s gala in South Carolina ahead of the state’s GOP primary. 

Black Americans are disproportionately imprisoned in the US, according to a report by the Sentencing Project, which found Black people are five times more likely than White Americans to serve prison time. Biden promised during his 2020 campaign to pursue criminal-justice reform following nationwide protests in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a police officer.

Democrats have overwhelmingly carried the support of Black voters in recent history, but there are signs their party loyalty is softening. A recent survey by Gallup found that support for Democrats among Black and Latino voters was recorded at a new low in the decades-long history of the poll.

“No amount of media deception or liberal race-baiting will sway the minds of Black voters who will cast their ballots this November for safer streets, a better financial well-being, a secure border, and a complete rejection of Joe Biden’s disastrous tenure,” said Diante Johnson, president of the Black Conservative Federation.

--With assistance from Stephanie Lai.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.