Is Donald Trump racist?

Stephanie (No)

President Trump has an extensive past in being involved with and helping minorities of many backgrounds, demonstrating that he is not racist, as his opponents repeatedly claim. Instead, evidence to the opposite stack against such accusations.

When he purchased his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1985, '[Trump] was the one who fought for Jews and blacks to be included in the clubs that were trying to exclude them.' In 2016, he appointed African American Dr. Ben Carson to helm the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2018, he created a brand new national historic park in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. In 2019, he passed the First Step Act to reduce incarceration rates that have 'disproportionally affected African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos.'

Trump also has many minority supporters. His work to improve the country's economy has proven 'particularly beneficial for minority workers,' and 'unemployment rates among African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are all at historic lows,' as are the unemployment gaps between African Americans and Hispanics compared to Caucasians. In fact, Trump's policies have been 'less favorable to the white working-class than he promised' they would be during his campaign.

Not only have his policies helped the American economy, but President Trump has expressed taking great pride in these accomplishments as they benefit minority Americans — something a racist would likely not boast. While the media continues to attack President Trump by calling him racist, it's undeniable those seemingly obsessed with race relations are perhaps the prejudiced ones. We see this through repeatedly used phrases such as 'whiteness,' 'white privilege,' and even 'black lives matter,' which insist on emphasizing the color of one's skin.

Kevin (Yes)

Donald Trump has a long record of racist statements and actions. In 1973, while Trump Management Company was facing a lawsuit for discrimination against African American lease applicants, he reportedly told Justice Department lawyer Elyse Goldweber, 'You know, you don't want to live with them either.' During the 1989 Central Park Five case, he took out ads in four papers calling for New York to reinstate the death penalty. The five Black and Latino teenagers who were convicted, but later exonerated by DNA evidence and the confession of another individual, won a substantial settlement from New York City. In a 2014 op-ed, Trump called the settlement a 'disgrace,' a position which has earned him criticism for racist connotations. As recent as June 2019, he has still backed this position. Mother Jones also unearthed a 1989 NBC interview with Trump in which he makes a series of racially insensitive remarks.

During Obama's presidency, Trump was a vocal proponent of the 'birtherism' movement. His own campaign was largely based on rhetoric and policies, which would be hard to classify as anything but bigoted when considering his proposed 'Muslim ban'. He attempted to sidestep on denouncing support from known racists such as former KKK leader David Duke. He likewise has a history of referring to ethnic groups as monoliths, such as 'the Hispanics love me.' In a 2015 speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he made a number of these kinds of problematic statements. More recently, he has made many statements on Twitter and elsewhere regarding the Black Lives Matter protests with clear racial implications.