US President Donald Trump and Democratic leadership contender Michael Bloomberg have accused each other of being racist, escalating a war of words between the two wealthy businessmen.
Mr Trump fired the first volley, posting a 2015 audio clip via Twitter of Bloomberg defending his use of a controversial policing strategy known as 'stop and frisk' from his time as New York's mayor .
"WOW, BLOOMBERG IS A TOTAL RACIST!" Trump wrote in the since-deleted tweet.
Mr Bloomberg, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Trump in the American election on 3 November, apologised for his use of the policing strategy last November, a few days before announcing his candidacy.
The 'stop and frisk' policy encouraged police to stop and search pedestrians and targeted disproportionate numbers of African-American and Hispanic people.
In the recording attached to Mr Trump's tweet, Mr Bloomberg is heard saying that the way to keep guns out of kids' hands is to "throw them up against the walls and frisk them".
In a statement today, Mr Bloomberg cited what he called his commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity, adding: "In contrast, President Trump inherited a country marching towards greater equality and divided us with racist appeals and hateful rhetoric."
Mr Bloomberg had long defended 'stop and frisk' as an effective police tactic that saved lives, even after a federal judge in 2013 found it violated the rights of ethnic minorities.
Now in his new statement he has admitted: "I have taken responsibility for taking too long to understand the impact it had on black and Latino communities."
Mr Trump backed 'stop and frisk' before and after he became US president in 2017.
The White House declined to comment on why Mr Trump had deleted his tweet.
