That U.S. Donald Trump seems to literally say whatever comes to his mind is no news, however his latest vocabulary to attack his former aide is crossing the line into racist language.

Trump on Tuesday referred to former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman, the only African-American to have served in a senior role in the White House, as a "dog."

His tweet also contained another epithet he had used previously used against Omarosa on TV, of being a “lowlife.”

Trump has erupted at Omarosa as she launched her book of her time in the Trump White House. Her book is called ‘Unhinged’ and she has among many allegations, also accused the President of using the ‘n’ word while referring to African Americans during his time as the host of the TV show The Apprentice. She has summarised him as a "racist, misogynist and a bigot."

Trump’s referring to Omarosa as a ‘dog’ is extremely distressing for multiple reasons – Omarosa is a woman and calling her the ‘b’ word would have been worse so he seems to have used the next available alternative. This language also harkens back to the time of slavery when slave owners referred to their African American workers as dogs. This word is also often employed by pimps and drug trafickers.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended her boss. She said that President Trump's description of former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman as a "dog" had "nothing to do with race." She added, “this President calls it like he sees it.” Trump has also invoked "dog" to insult non-African-Americans -- including Mitt Romney and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2018 05:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).