Is Donald Trump a racist? The majority of Americans say yes.
A new poll from Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 57 percent of American adults believe the president is a racist and that he has enacted policies that are detrimental to Muslims and other minorities. The poll comes amid a series of high-profile and racially charged controversies for Trump and a historically low approval rating.
The poll found that close to half of white Americans believe Trump is a racist, while close to 80 percent of African-Americans and 75 percent of Hispanics agreed that he is racist. Trump was viewed better by Republicans, with only 21 percent saying they believe he is a racist.
Americans also believe that Donald Trump is acting on these racist beliefs, with 57 percent saying he is enacting policies that are bad for Muslims and 56 percent saying he has put policies in place that are bad for Hispanics. A little less than half of respondents said his policies are bad for African-Americans, The Hill noted.
As the report noted, Donald Trump has sparked a number of racially charged controversies, including saying there were some “very fine people” among white supremacist marchers at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year where violence erupted and a counter-protester was murdered.
Trump has also gotten into some high-profile spats with prominent African-Americans, lashing out at rapper Jay Z and calling on NFL owners to fire players who took a knee during the national anthem. Critics pointed out that Trump tended to fight back when he was criticized by African-Americans — especially African-American women — but kept quiet when criticism came from white athletes, entertainers, and actors. That was the case when rapper Eminem launched into a tirade against Trump in a freestyle rap at the BET Awards, to which Trump remained silent.
More Than Half of Americans Think Donald Trump Is Racist https://t.co/6WXJ1APf6Z
— Myo Myint (@MyoMyin38299166) March 1, 2018
Donald Trump has faced accusations of racism for years, long before he decided to run for president. His first appearance in the New York Times was for a discrimination lawsuit claiming that his company refused to rent to black tenants , one that Trump ultimately settled out of court.
The start of Trump’s campaign — when he called illegal Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals — was also seen by many as racist. There are so many incidents that PBS compiled a list of all the times Trump has been accused of racism, more than 100 instances of racism listed.
