Morgan Freeman laid down the chips on the Tea Party in a new interview
with Piers Morgan that is due to air Friday night.

The Oscar-winning actor sat down with the British TV host and, amongst
other things, discussed his belief that the right wing Tea Party's
anti-Obama stance is rooted in racism.

When asked by Morgan whether Obama's presidency has made racism in the
United States better or worse, Freeman, who once played
apartheid-defying South African president Nelson Mandela, frankly
stated that his time in office has made it worse, as he has become a
target of the right's aggression.

"Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to
see to it that Obama only serves one term," the actor said. "What's,
what does that, what underlines that? 'Screw the country. We're going
to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we're going to do
whatever we can to get this black man outta here.'"

Declaring once again that "it's a racist thing," Freeman said the
group's rise has shown the hate still lingering in America.

"Well, it just shows the weak, dark, underside of America," he said.
"We're supposed to be better than that. We really are. That's, that's
why all those people were in tears when Obama was elected president.
"Ah, look at what we are. Look at how, this is America." You know? And
then it just sort of started turning because these people surfaced
like stirring up muddy water."

The actor continued, saying that he understood President Obama not
fighting back, seeking to stick to his principles, but wishes that
he'd be more aggressive now.

Freeman endorsed Obama during his run for the presidency, but declined
to campaign with him, saying that he was an actor, not a politician.
He attended a White House Civil Rights concert in 2010.