Photo: AP

We here at Gawker once made a light-hearted comparison between a race-war obsessed lunatic and Charles Manson. Turns out we weren’t far off base: Donald Trump once argued having “nine blacks” square off against “nine whites” would produce the highest ratings on television.

Trump made the proposal in 2005 on the Howard Stern show (where else), where he took a break from discussing how often his wife defecates (never) to propose his own version of helter-skelter.

BuzzFeed, which dug up the news, also published a transcript of the audio.

“On The Apprentice there was a concept, okay, thrown out by some person, nine blacks against nine whites,” said Trump. “And it would be nine blacks against nine whites, all highly educated, very smart, strong, beautiful. Do you like it? Do you like it, Robin?”

Robin, Stern’s co-host, suggested he might cause a riot—an accomplishment even Manson himself struggled to achieve. “It would be the highest-rated show in television,” Trump proclaimed.

“Very dark blacks, or light-skinned blacks?” Stern asked.

“Assortment,” Trump responded, “against whites.”

When a laughing Quivers asked how many blondes, Trump added he wanted all nine whites to be blonde.

“This was a thought that was given to us, and I don’t think NBC is thrilled with the idea, with the concept,” says Trump.

“Wouldn’t that set off a racial war?” asks Stern.

“Actually, I don’t think it would,” responded Trump. “I think it would be handled very beautifully by me. Because, as you know, I’m very diplomatic… Also, I think you’d have 35 million people a night watching.”

“You’d have to [watch],” Robin said, to know when the riots start. Trump did not comment on the existence of a Trump desert compound stocked with guns, beautiful women and pliable men—which is not to say it doesn’t exist. Has anyone ever seen Trump and Manson together in the same room? We’re just asking questions.