title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In his initial statement on the rally, Trump condemned "hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides" but did not directly denounce white nationalists. His statement and his subsequent defenses of it, in which he also referred to "very fine people on both sides", suggested a moral equivalence between the white supremacist marchers and those who protested against them, leading some observers to state that he was sympathetic to white supremacy. Trump later said: "I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Two days later, following a wave of disapproval that met his initial remarks, Trump delivered a prepared statement, saying "Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs." However, the next day he defended the original rally, stating, "You had people in that group who were protesting the taking down of what to them is a very, very important statue...You're changing history; you're changing culture," and again placed blame on the counterprotesters in affirming, "I think there's blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it. You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. No one wants to say that, but I'll say it right now: You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent." Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke praised Trump's remarks in a tweet: "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Five days after the rally, Trump returned to Twitter to express sympathy with the original rally and their defense of Confederate statues, writing, "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments" and "the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!"


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Ten days after the rally, in prepared remarks at an American Legion conference, Trump called for the country to unite. He said: "We are not defined by the color of our skin, the figure on our paycheck or the party of our politics. Rather, we are defined by our shared humanity, our citizenship in this magnificent nation and by the love that fills our hearts." The remarks came a day after further racially divisive remarks he had made at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, where he had said of those who wish to take down Confederate statues, "They're trying to take away our culture. They're trying to take away our history."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In a tweet to mark the first anniversary, Trump stated "The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division. We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!" Critics contended that the wording "all types of racism" could be seen as a veiled defense of white nationalists, similarly to his "both sides" remarks on the rally.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In her 2012 campaign for the Senate, Elizabeth Warren's opponent raised accusations concerning Warren's having listed partial Native American ancestry on her profile in a professional directory. Warren denies that she ever claimed to be a minority for the purpose of securing employment, and a review of her employment history and interviews of her past employers has been unable to find anything that supports the charge. Picking up on the controversy, Trump has frequently referred to her as "Pocahontas", including at a White House event where he addressed Native American veterans who served in the US military during World War II. Warren responded: "It was deeply unfortunate that the President of the United States cannot even make it through a ceremony honoring these heroes without throwing out a racial slur."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The general secretary of the Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes, John Norwood, said Trump's nickname for Warren is "insulting to all American Indians" and "smacks of racism", adding that Trump should "stop using our historical people of significance as a racial slur against one of his opponents." The president of the National Congress of American Indians said: "We regret that the president's use of the name Pocahontas as a slur to insult a political adversary is overshadowing the true purpose of today's White House ceremony." White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that complaints that the nickname is a racial slur are "ridiculous", and that "What most people find offensive is Senator Warren lying about her heritage to advance her career."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: After an intelligence briefing on hostages held by a terrorist group in Pakistan, Trump asked an Asian-American intelligence analyst "where are you from?" After she told him she was from New York he asked again and she clarified that she was from Manhattan. He pressed with the question until she finally told him that her parents were Korean. Trump then asked one of his advisers why "the pretty Korean lady" was not negotiating for him with North Korea. NBC News characterized this exchange as Trump having "seemed to suggest her ethnicity should determine her career path". "Vox" suggested that when Trump refused to accept New York as an answer he is "saying that children of Asian immigrants can never truly be 'from' America. This isn't just simple bigotry; it feels like a rejection of the classic American 'melting pot' ideal altogether."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On January 11, 2018, during an Oval Office meeting about immigration reform, commenting on immigration figures from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and African countries, Trump reportedly said: "Those shitholes send us the people that they don't want", and suggested that the US should instead increase immigration from "places like Norway" and Asian countries. The comments received widespread domestic and international condemnation; news anchors such as Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon called Trump a racist.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In a statement issued the same day, the White House did not deny that the president made the remarks, but on the following day Trump did tweet out a partial denial, saying that he "never said anything derogatory about Haitians", and denied using "shithole" specifically to refer to those countries but did admit to using "tough language". Senate minority whip Dick Durbin, the only Democrat present at the Oval Office meeting, stated that Trump did use racist language and referred to African countries as "shitholes" and that "he said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Speaking on "PBS NewsHour", Mark Shields commented, "It's one thing when Donald Trump uses Pocahontas to attack or taunt one senator, Elizabeth Warren. This, quite frankly, is beyond that. I mean, this is racial. It's racist. It is."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In March 2019, Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified about border security to the House Homeland Security Committee, where she was asked about the incident. She said she did not "specifically remember a categorization of countries from Africa." Asked about the president's language, Nielsen said, "I don't remember specific words", while remembering "the general profanity that was used in the room by almost everyone" but not Dick Durbin. Later on during the questioning, Nielsen said, "I remember specific cuss words being used by a variety of members," without elaborating on what was said or by whom.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Republican senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, also present at the meeting, initially issued a joint statement stating that they "do not recall the President saying those comments specifically". Later, both senators denied that Trump had said "shithole". Perdue said Trump "did not use that word ... The gross misrepresentation was that language was used in there that was not used," and Cotton said, "I didn't hear it, and I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin". Cotton elaborated that he "did not hear derogatory comments about individuals or persons", and went on to affirm with the interviewer that the "sentiment [attributed to Trump] is totally phony". Meanwhile, "The Washington Post" reported that Cotton and Perdue told the White House they heard "shithouse" rather than "shithole".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) stated that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), present at the meeting, had confirmed that Trump indeed called El Salvador, Haiti and some African nations "shithole countries". Graham refused to confirm or deny hearing Trump's words, but rather released a statement in which he said, "[I] said my piece directly to [Trump]." In what was interpreted as a response to Cotton and Purdue, Graham later said, "My memory hasn't evolved. I know what was said and I know what I said," while also asserting "It's not where you come from that matters, it's what you're willing to do once you get here." Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said that the meeting participants had told him about Trump making those remarks before the account went public.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Conservative columnist Erick Erickson said Trump had privately bragged to friends about making the remarks, thinking "it would play well with the base." "The Washington Post" quoted Trump's aides as saying Trump had called friends to ask how his political supporters would react to the coverage of the incident, and that he was "not particularly upset" by its publication.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Vice President Mike Pence stated that he "knows the president's heart", and that Trump's goal is to reform the immigration system so that it is merit-based regardless of race, creed or country of origin, encouraging immigration by those who want to "contribute to a growing American economy and thriving communities." Some Republican lawmakers denounced Trump's comments, calling them "unfortunate" and "indefensible", while others sidestepped or did not respond to them. House speaker Paul Ryan said, "So, first thing that came to my mind was very unfortunate, unhelpful." Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who said she would not vote for Trump and has been very critical of him, said: "These comments are highly inappropriate and out of bounds and could hurt efforts for a bipartisan immigration agreement. The president should not denigrate other countries." Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, and Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, called the comments "disappointing".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Representative Mia Love of Utah, who is of Haitian descent, tweeted that the comments were "unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation's values". She later stated they were "really difficult to hear, especially because my [Haitian immigrant] parents were such big supporters of the president... there are countries that struggle out there but ... their people are good people and they're part of us." Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona wrote "The words used by the President, as related to me directly following the meeting by those in attendance were not 'tough', they were abhorrent and repulsive." Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Erik Paulsen of Minnesota also denounced the comments.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: When asked if he believed Senator Durbin's reporting of the incident, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer replied, "I have no doubts. First, Donald Trump has lied so many times, it's hard to believe him on anything, let alone this." Both House minority whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland and civil rights leader Representative John Lewis of Georgia said Trump's remarks confirm his racism. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said, "America's president is a racist and this is the proof. His hateful rhetoric has no place in the White House." Representative Tim Walz of Minnesota said, "This is racism, plain and simple, and we need to call it that. My Republican colleagues need to call it that too." Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said that Trump's comments "smack of blatant racism—odious and insidious racism masquerading poorly as immigration policy". Representative Karen Bass of California said: "You would never call a predominantly white country a 'shithole' because you are unable to see people of color, American or otherwise, as equals." Representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersey tweeted that Trump is "showing his bigoted tendencies in ways that would make Archie Bunker blush", and called him a "national disgrace".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at a news briefing, "There is no other word one can use but racist. You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as 'shitholes', whose entire populations, who are not white, are therefore not welcome."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The African Union issued a statement strongly condemning the remarks and demanding a retraction and apology; an AU spokeswoman said, "Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, [Trump's statement] flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice. This is particularly surprising as the United States of America remains a global example of how migration gave birth to a nation built on strong values of diversity and opportunity."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The president of Uganda Yoweri Museveni praised Trump saying "I love Trump because he talks to Africans frankly. I don't know if he's misquoted or whatever, but when he speaks I like him because he speaks frankly."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The Ministry of International Affairs of Botswana summoned the US ambassador, and said in a statement "We view the utterances by the current American President as highly irresponsible, reprehensible, and racist." The African National Congress, the ruling party in South Africa, tweeted "its offensive for President Trump to make derogatory statements about countries that do not share policy positions with the US. Developing countries experience difficulties. The US also faces difficulties." Mmusi Maimane, the leader of South Africa's opposition party the Democratic Alliance, said "The hatred of Obama's roots now extends to an entire continent."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Haitian ambassador to the United States Paul Altidor said Haiti "vehemently condemn[ed]" Trump's comments, saying they were "based on stereotypes". Haiti's former prime minister Laurent Lamothe said, "It shows a lack of respect and ignorance never seen before in the recent history of the US by any President."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Starting with his presidential run in 2016, Trump has often told the story of "The Snake", inspired by the song written by Oscar Brown Jr. In Trump's retelling, the story becomes an allegory used to warn of the danger posed by immigrants. In February 2018, Trump faced criticism after including the story during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Maggie Brown, daughter of Oscar Brown Jr., stated that Trump's immigration agenda "deals with separatism, racism, sexism, and it's kind of thing that's polar opposite to what Oscar Brown Jr was about." Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt said "Trump's snake story is vicious, disgraceful, utterly racist and profoundly un-American." Austrian language researcher Kateryna Pilyarchuk claims that "Trump has used 'The Snake' to whip up racist fervor at raucous rallies."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Alice Marie Johnson is an African-American woman who was given a life sentence in 1996 after being convicted on charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine and attempted possession of cocaine. In June 2018, Trump granted her clemency a week after meeting with Kim Kardashian, who was lobbying for her release. In August 2020, Johnson appeared in a video broadcast to the Republican National Convention telling of her release and praising Trump's decision to sign a criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, into law. The next day, President Trump granted her a full pardon. Commentators have pointed out that most of the people Trump has given clemency to did not "look like Johnson" and that he has used the pardon power mainly for political purposes.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In July 2018, the Trump administration eliminated Obama-era guidelines suggesting that universities consider race for student admissions decisions. The Obama administration had wanted to cultivate a more diverse student body on university campuses, but the Trump administration viewed the guidelines as unconstitutional.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In July 2018, while on a trip to Europe, Trump said in an interview with "The Sun" newspaper that "I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad, I think what has happened to Europe is a shame. I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it's never going to be what it was and I don't mean that in a positive way, I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn't exist ten or 15 years ago," On the same trip, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump again commented on immigration in Europe: "I think it's been very bad for Europe. I think Europe is a place I know very well and I think what has happened is very tough. It's a very tough situation, I just think it's changing the culture. It's a very negative thing for Europe." May responded by saying that "Over the years, overall immigration has been good for the UK. It brought people with different backgrounds and outlooks here to the UK and we've seen them contributing to our society and economy."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In August 2018, Trump sent a tweet stating that he had ordered Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to look into land seizures and the mass killing of white farmers in South Africa, acting on a racist conspiracy theory. In fact, farming organisation AgriSA had recently reported that the murder rate on farms had declined to the lowest level in 20 years, one-third of the level recorded in 1998. In response, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement:


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: At a rally in Houston in October 2018, Trump stated "You know, they have a word—it's sort of became old-fashioned—it's called a nationalist. And I say, really, we're not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I'm a nationalist, okay? I'm a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word." Trump later denied that there was any racial connotation connected to his use of the word. Many others, however, suggested that his use of the word "nationalist" was dangerously close to the phrase "white nationalist". Reformed neo-Nazi Christian Picciolini, for example, tweeted that "Trump's 'I'm a Nationalist' comment will likely represent the biggest boon for white supremacist recruitment since the film "The Birth of a Nation" glorified the Klan in 1915 and gained the KKK 4 million members by 1925."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In November 2018, Facebook, NBC, and Fox News withdrew a controversial political campaign ad which was backed by Trump after critics described it as racist. Shown prior to the midterm elections, the ad focused on a migrant caravan then traveling through Mexico with hopes of immigration to the U.S., and Luis Bracamontes, an undocumented immigrant who was convicted of killing two sheriff's deputies in California in 2014.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In May 2019, During a Trump campaign rally an audience member suggested shooting illegal migrants crossing the border, to which Trump responded with a joke, saying, "only in the Panhandle you can get away with that".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In May 2019, the Trump administration announced that the plan to replace the portrait of Andrew Jackson on the twenty-dollar bill with that of Harriet Tubman by 2020, as had been planned by the Obama administration, would be delayed until 2026. Some critics viewed this decision as a reflection of Trump's racism, including Representative Ayanna Pressley, who said "Secretary Mnuchin has allowed Trump's racism and misogyny to prevent him from carrying out the will of the people." Trump is a great admirer of Andrew Jackson and had his portrait installed in the Oval Office immediately after moving into the White House. Critics have suggested that Trump's support of Jackson is "barely veiled racism" as an attempt to appeal to his largely white political base, and point to Jackson's ownership of slaves and policies towards Native Americans.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 14, 2019, Trump tweeted about four Democratic congresswomen, and although he did not mention any member of Congress by name, it was widely inferred that he was referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. This group, known collectively as the Squad, had verbally sparred with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a week earlier:


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) specifically cites the phrase "Go back to where you came from" as the type of language that may violate anti-discrimination employment laws.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: "Ethnic slurs and other verbal or physical conduct because of nationality are illegal if they are severe or pervasive and create an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment, interfere with work performance, or negatively affect job opportunities." The EEOC's website states: "Examples of potentially unlawful conduct include insults, taunting, or ethnic epithets, such as making fun of a person's foreign accent or comments like, 'Go back to where you came from,' whether made by supervisors or by co-workers."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Only one of those congresswomen is an immigrant; the other three were born in the United States, making Trump's comments an example of the false attribution of foreignness to members of minorities. Nancy Pelosi labelled Trump's comments as "xenophobic" and commented: "When @realDonaldTrump tells four American congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again." Among the 2020 presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders said Trump was a racist, while Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Beto O'Rourke called his statements racist. Justin Amash, a U.S. Representative who had recently left the Republican Party, called the statements "racist and disgusting". Republican lawmakers were initially mostly silent on Trump's statements, with those in leadership positions at first declining to comment. By July 20, around 20 Republican lawmakers had criticized Trump's statements, around 60 Republican lawmakers either supported Trump or instead criticized Democratic lawmakers, around 60 Republican lawmakers criticized both Trump and Democratic lawmakers, and around 110 were silent or offered vague answers. White nationalist publications and social media sites praised Trump's remarks; "This is the kind of WHITE NATIONALISM we elected him for," wrote Andrew Anglin on his "Daily Stormer" neo-Nazi website.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: "New York Times" news analyst Peter Baker drew controversy for writing an article on the tweets but avoiding directly calling the tweets "racist". The direct application of the term "racist" is typically controversial and avoided in journalism, with euphemisms such as "racially-charged" or "racially-infused" typically used instead. However, many publications directly called Trump's tweets and language as racist, including "The Washington Post", "Vox", and CNN, as well as the Associated Press. NPR has had a policy imposed since January 2018 to generally avoid using the word "racist" when describing the Trump administration, but the news room agreed on an editorial decision to describe Trump's tweets as racist.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: "The Washington Post", after interviews with 26 involved sources, reported that after the backlash, Trump defended his statements to his advisers. Trump said that he had been watching "Fox & Friends", that his statements were aimed at bringing more attention to the four congresswomen because he believed they were 'good foils'.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Later on July 14, Trump tweeted: "So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion. Whenever confronted, they call their adversaries, including Nancy Pelosi, "RACIST."" The next day, Trump demanded that "the Radical Left Congresswomen" apologize to him, as well as the people of the United States and Israel, for "the terrible things they have said". He also accused them of propagating "racist hatred". In response to a journalist, Trump said he wasn't concerned if white nationalists agreed with him, "because many people agree with me."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 16, the House of Representatives rebuked his remarks, passing H.Res. 489 which says the House "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color." Four Republican representatives (Brian Fitzpatrick, Fred Upton, Will Hurd and Susan Brooks) joined the Democratic majority and independent Justin Amash in a 240-to-187 vote. Before the vote, Trump continued his insults towards the congresswomen and top Republicans accused the four congresswomen of being socialists. After the vote, Trump praised the Republican Party for being unified in rejecting the House resolution, while acknowledging that the resolution was regarding his comments on "four Democrat Congresswomen".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Also on July 16, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy commented on Trump's statements. McConnell was asked if Trump's initial statements were racist. McConnell replied: "The president's not a racist." McConnell also said it was a "mistake" to "single out any segment" of widespread "incendiary rhetoric" in American politics. McCarthy was also asked if Trump's initial statements were racist; McCarthy replied: "No." Republican Lindsey Graham, chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, tweeted "We all know that AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists. They hate Israel. They hate our own country. They're calling the guards along our border—Border Patrol agents—concentration camp guards. They accuse people who support Israel of doing it for the Benjamins. They're anti-Semitic. They're anti-America." On July 18 he said that he did not think Trump's initial statements were racist because: "I don't think a Somali refugee embracing Trump would be asked to go back. If you're racist, you want everybody to go back because they are black or Muslim." Previously in 2015, Graham had called Trump a "race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: At a presidential campaign rally on July 17 in North Carolina, Trump continued to attack the four congresswomen: "They never have anything good to say. That's why I say, 'Hey if you don't like it, let 'em leave' ... if they don't love it, tell them to leave it." "Love it or leave it" is a slogan often directed toward critics of the government or anyone who is perceived as not being sufficiently patriotic, particularly if they are non-white; it was commonly used against Vietnam War protesters in the 1960s. In his speech, Trump referenced Rashida Tlaib calling him a 'motherfucker', stating: "that's not somebody that loves our country". Trump also named Ilhan Omar and misrepresented comments Omar made in 2013, falsely claiming that Omar had praised al-Qaeda. As Trump continued that Omar "looks down with contempt" on Americans, the crowd of Trump supporters reacted by chanting: "Send her back, Send her back." After the rally, Trump tweeted: "What a crowd, and what great people". Asked about the chants on July 18, Trump said he disagreed with the chants from the crowd. He falsely claimed that he tried to stop the chant by "speaking very quickly". In reality, Trump stopped speaking for 13 seconds while the chant was occurring, and did not discourage the crowd. He continued criticizing Omar after resuming his speech. On July 19, Trump praised the North Carolina crowd as "incredible people" and "incredible patriots".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Foreign media has widely covered the incident. The social media hashtag #IStandWithIlhanOmar was soon trending in the United States and other countries. Many foreign politicians commented, condemning Trump. On July 19, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, commented, "I reject [Trump's comments] and stand in solidarity with the congresswomen he targeted." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "The comments made were hurtful, wrong and completely unacceptable. I want everyone in Canada to know that those comments are completely unacceptable and should not be allowed or encouraged in Canada". British Prime Minister Theresa May also condemned Trump's remarks, calling them "completely unacceptable." Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, commented "I've been, for many years, one of the most pro-American politicians in Europe... (but) sometimes if you feel that something is totally unacceptable you have to react despite business, despite interests.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In a CBS News and YouGov poll of almost 2,100 American adults conducted from July 17 to 19, it was found that 34% felt that Trump's initial tweets were not racist, and 48% felt that they were racist. 70% of Republican respondents felt that the tweets were not racist. 84% of Democrat respondents felt that the tweets were racist. 59% of respondents disagreed with Trump's initial tweets, while 40% agreed.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 27, 2019, Trump used Twitter to criticize Representative Elijah Cummings, the Maryland district he represented, and the city of Baltimore. Cummings, since deceased, was Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which was heading investigations of the Trump administration, including of its migrant detentions. The district Cummings represented is over 50% black according to the U.S. Census. It includes parts of Baltimore as well as suburban areas. Trump's tweets came less than an hour after a "Fox & Friends" segment by Kimberly Klacik criticizing Cummings and his district. Klacik, who is also black, reacted positively, believing that Trump had watched her segment.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump has a history of describing largely black populated areas as being "infested", including African nations in 2014, Atlanta in 2017, sanctuary cities in 2018, and the places he decided the "Squad" should "go back" to in 2019. When Representative John Lewis refused to attend Trump's inauguration in 2017, Trump said that Lewis "should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested)".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Cummings responded that it was his "moral duty to fight for [his] constituents", pointing out that to do so, he had previously asked for Trump's support in passing laws to lower prescription drug prices, while linking to a 2017 article from Democratic representatives lamenting that Trump did not offer support on such issues. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was born in Baltimore, and Senator Elizabeth Warren condemned his remarks as racist.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump continued his attacks hours later: "Elijah Cummings spends all of his time trying to hurt innocent people through "Oversight." He does NOTHING for his very poor, very dangerous and very badly run district!" Cummings' Maryland district's median income is above the average for American districts.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 27, the editorial board of "The Baltimore Sun" responded to Trump's statements. They argued that Trump also has a responsibility to solve Baltimore's problems, since the White House has more power than any single congressman. They concluded: "Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 28, Trump wrote "There is nothing racist in stating plainly what most people already know, that Elijah Cummings has done a terrible job for the people of his district, and of Baltimore itself. Dems always play the race card when they are unable to win with facts. Shame!". Trump's Acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, defended the comments in television interviews, saying that he understood why some people think Trump's comments are racist, "but that doesn't mean that it is racist." Trump also called Cummings a "racist", without explanation, and retweeted a tweet from right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins that labelled Baltimore as a "proper sh*thole".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 29, Al Sharpton, a black activist for civil rights, tweeted: "Arrived in DC from Atlanta, headed to Baltimore. Long day but can't stop." Trump quoted and responded to that tweet of Sharpton's, declaring: "I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He 'loved Trump!' He would ask me for favors often. Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!" This led Sharpton to reply: "I do make trouble for bigots. If he really thought I was a con man he would want me in his cabinet."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 30, Trump said that "thousands" of people have told his administration they were "thankful" for his comments on Baltimore, in particular the black majority of the residents of Baltimore, who he said were "living in hell".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Regarding Trump's rhetoric, the Washington National Cathedral issued a statement from its leaders Mariann Budde, Randolph Hollerith and Kelly Douglas. They condemned Trump's statements as "dangerous", because "violent words lead to violent actions". They asked when would Americans declare that they "have had enough" of Trump's words and actions, which both attract and shield "white supremacists who consider people of color a sub-human 'infestation' in America ... The question is less about the president's sense of decency, but of" Americans'.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Following the mass shooting that took place in El Paso, Texas during the first week of August 2019, Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric was widely criticized, especially remarks regarding Hispanics and his repeated warnings about an immigrant "invasion", the same wording used by the El Paso shooter in his anti-immigrant manifesto in which he wrote, "this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas." Representative Veronica Escobar, whose district includes a large part of the city, said "Words have consequences. The president has made my community and my people the enemy. He has told the country that we are people to be feared, people to be hated." Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, who is from El Paso, stated: "Anyone who is surprised is part of this problem right now—including members of the media who ask, 'Hey Beto, do you think the president is racist?' Well, Jesus Christ, of course he's racist. He's been racist from day one."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In a speech on August 5 commenting on the recent shootings, Trump condemned racism and white supremacy, stating "These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On August 20, 2019, after a reporter asked "Should there be any change in U.S. aid to Israel?", Donald Trump stated within his answer, "And I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty." The quote caused outrage, shock and disdain from Jewish leaders and citizens in the United States. They claimed that the president was perpetuating anti-Semitic stereotypes. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders responded at a campaign rally in Iowa City: "I am a proud Jewish person, and I have no concerns about voting Democratic. And in fact, I intend to vote for a Jewish man to become the next president of the United States."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The Trump administration has included several officials with ties to white nationalism. In November 2019, emails promoting white supremacist views sent by senior White House advisor Stephen Miller were made public. Despite widespread calls for his resignation (including by over 100 members of Congress), Trump continued to support Miller and did not condemn his advocacy of white supremacy.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In February 2020, Trump awarded Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Limbaugh had made numerous statements widely described as racist over the course of his career as a radio personality.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: After he was widely criticized for using the term, Trump defended his use of the phrase "Chinese Virus" for SARS-CoV-2. Trump said, "it comes from China...it's not racist at all". Many people and organizations disagreed, including the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which tweeted in March 2020 "Of course he called it 'Chinese Virus,' because he doesn't care that Asians and Asian Americans are subjected to hate violence because of this racist description of #coronavirus." The World Health Organization has "called on scientists, national authorities and the media to follow best practices in naming new human infectious diseases to minimize unnecessary negative effects on nations, economies and people."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On June 20, 2020, in a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump used language that was widely described as racist, referring to COVID-19 as "Kung Flu", a phrase that Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway had previously described as "wrong", "highly offensive" and "very hurtful". On June 22, 2020, White House spokespeople defended Trump's use of the term, stating "It's not a discussion about Asian Americans, who the president values and prizes as citizens of this great country. It is an indictment of China for letting this virus get here".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In May 2020, Trump was accused of racism for tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" and stating of the looters "these thugs are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd" in response to a third night of arson and rioting in Minneapolis, during which the Minneapolis Third Precinct police station was set on fire by rioters, over the police killing of the unarmed black man. The phrase had been used previously in 1967 by a Miami police chief, Walter E. Headley, that was widely condemned by civil rights groups and repeated in 1968 during the presidential campaign of segregationist George Wallace.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: As protests continued, Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser criticised Trump for stating that protesters who climbed over the White House fence would be met by "the most vicious dogs and ominous of weapons", saying it was "no subtle reminder to African-Americans of segregationists that let dogs out on women, children and innocent people in the South".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump had planned to hold his first rally since March on June 19, 2020, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but this provoked an outcry as it would have overlapped Juneteenth—a day commemorating the end of slavery. The rally also caused controversy due to the location's associations with the Tulsa massacre, the worst case of racial violence in American history. Trump initially defended the plans, stating that his rally would be a celebration, but then announced that the rally would be moved to June 20 "out of respect".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In a June 12, 2020, interview with Fox News host Harris Faulkner, a black woman, Trump claimed to have done more for blacks than the 16th president Abraham Lincoln. Trump further suggested that although Lincoln "did good", the result was "always questionable" but when pressed admitted "So I'm going to take a pass on Abe."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In June 2020, Trump tweeted two videos of black men attacking white people with captions questioning why no one was protesting the violence, and in one case writing "So terrible!" Critics accused Trump of suggesting that individual crimes committed by black men are equivalent to the systemic violence against people of color by police officers, and fomenting racial division as the presidential election nears. Observers noted that white supremacist websites often promote false notions of the prevalence of crimes committed by blacks against whites.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump has repeatedly called Mexican men "bad hombres" and "rapists". While campaigning in 2015 he made multiple false assertions that the Mexican government was sending their most unwanted people to the U.S. "When Mexico sends their people... They're bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." In 2017, the "Associated Press" reported that during a phone call to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Trump warned the Mexican president that his military was not doing enough to stop "a bunch of bad hombres down there" and threatened to send U.S. troops into Mexico to "take care of it." Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, some protesters used the slogan "Defund the police", supporting divesting some funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support. Trump addressed this issue when speaking at a campaign rally in late June 2020, saying: "It's 1 o'clock in the morning and a very tough—you know I've used the word on occasion, 'hombre'—a very tough 'hombre' is breaking into the window of a young woman whose husband is away as a traveling salesman or whatever he may do. And you call 911 and they say, 'I'm sorry, this number is no longer working.'" After Trump posted a video that included his "bad hombres" comments on his Twitch channel, the livestreaming platform suspended his account due to "hateful conduct."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On June 28, 2020, Trump retweeted video footage of Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters arguing with one another during which a supporter is recorded yelling, among other things, 'White Power'. He praised supporters in the retweet, calling them "great people" in his caption of a video uploaded and tweeted by another account. Trump wrote "Thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!". The tweet included an embedded video showing several pro-Trump senior citizens in Florida having an exchange with anti-Trump protestors and supporters of Black Lives Matter as well as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. In the footage, one of the president's supporters repeatedly shouts "white power" at the demonstrators. Trump received intense condemnation for the tweet. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the senate, said Trump should "take it down". Three hours after posting it, Trump deleted the tweet without further comment, although White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed that Trump had not heard the "white power" statement in the tweet. At a press conference two days later, McEnany did not respond to a reporter asking if President Trump condemned the use of the slogan "White power". McEnany later responded to questions about the tweet stating "The president took down that video, that deletion speaks strongly...the president has repeatedly condemned hate." It was later reported that President Trump's aides tried to reach him when the controversy started, but that he was unavailable for several hours because he was golfing at the Trump National Golf Club and had put his phone down.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In July 2020, Trump announced that he was considering the elimination of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, a program designed to address racial segregation in suburban areas. Shaun Donovan, the former secretary of the Housing and Urban Development department who is responsible for the creation of the policy, said that "Trump's tweet is racist and wrong..." Some suggested that the comments by Trump were intended to shore up support among white suburban voters, noting that the day before this tweet Trump had posted a video of a white couple in front of their house angrily pointing guns at protesters.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In a July 2020 Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore, Trump attacked the "left-wing cultural revolution" that he said must "never be allowed to destroy our way of life or take away our freedom." "The Washington Post" reported that the speech was "a harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement". "CNN" reported, "Trump once again sought to deepen racial and cultural divisions in America rather than attempting to unify a country convulsed by the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a sweeping reckoning on racism in America." "Time" magazine wrote, "At the foot of Mount Rushmore and on the eve of Independence Day, President Donald Trump dug deeper into America's divisions by accusing protesters who have pushed for racial justice of engaging in a "merciless campaign to wipe out our history." "NPR"s "Weekend Edition" quoted Trump's words, "Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children." White House correspondent Tamara Keith said, "He delivered this speech in front of Mount Rushmore, setting up this current moment in our country with people protesting racism and pushing for change as an epic battle over the soul of America. He used over-the-top language reminiscent of his American carnage inaugural address. At one point, he set up the left as having the goal of not making America better, but trying to defeat America." Speaking on "CNN", Dianne Pinderhughes, professor of Africana Studies and Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, said "Trump's racism is not subtle at all. Every step he takes, every comment about human beings, murders or killings, he can't hold back. Even as Mississippi and other parts of the country remove Confederate symbols, he goes in the opposite direction as hard as he can."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, numerous Confederate monuments and symbols were removed across the country due to their association with slavery and racism. In June 2020, Trump personally requested Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to restore a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike that had been taken down by protesters in Washington, D.C. Also in June, the US Army proposed discussions on the renaming of military bases that have been named after Confederate Army generals. Many people and organizations such as the NAACP have suggested renaming the bases after military heroes of color. Trump responded with a tweet stating that "my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations." On June 30, Trump threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act due to a provision requiring renaming of bases named for Confederate commanders and the removal of Confederate symbols from all U.S. defense facilities. On July 6, he criticized NASCAR's decision to ban the Confederate flag from its events. When asked whether he thought the Confederate flag was offensive, Trump replied, "When people proudly hang their Confederate flags, they're not talking about racism. They love their flag, it represents the South."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 23, 2020, the Trump administration reversed the 2015 Obama administration Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule which was enacted to promote equal housing opportunities and level the playing field so that neighborhoods provided equal opportunities for all. Eugene Robinson commented that Trump's decision "may be the most nakedly racist appeal to White voters that I've seen since the days of segregationist state leaders such as Alabama's George Wallace and Georgia's Lester Maddox. "NPR" quoted political scientist Lynn Vavreck, who explained the rhetoric of his policy decision: "[Trump suggests] a suburb is the kind of community where great Americans live because we've limited it. I think it's just straight-up racializing this idea of housing. This is the kind of argument that Trump makes all the time: 'I'm going to tell you that these people are good, or us versus them. We, the good people, and they, the bad people. And we have to keep them out to keep our greatness.'"


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In September 2020, Trump directed federal government agencies to discontinue anti-bias and racial sensitivity training for their employees. A memo from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought says Trump has instructed him to cancel funding for what it calls "divisive, anti-American propaganda". The memo instructed Federal agencies to "begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on 'critical race theory,' 'white privilege,' or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil." Trump cited conservative media reports and retweeted Twitter posts to describe the policy.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In October 2020, the Justice Department suspended all diversity and inclusion and implicit bias training. Major universities also began to cancel diversity training, fearing loss of funding if found to be out of compliance with the executive order.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In his book published in September 2020, Michael Cohen, who was Trump's attorney for over ten years, claimed that Trump made racist comments on numerous occasions. Cohen said that "As a rule, Trump expressed low opinions of all Black folks, from music to culture and politics." Among other disparaging comments, Cohen claims that Trump said "Tell me one country run by a Black person that isn't a shithole."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In his book published in September 2020, journalist Bob Woodward describes a recorded interview with Trump in which Woodward talks about white privilege. Woodward asked Trump if he was working to "understand the anger and the pain, particularly, Black people feel in this country.” Trump replied “No. You really drank the Kool-Aid, didn’t you? Just listen to you. Wow. No, I don’t feel that at all.”


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In January 2021, the Trump administration's Department of Justice sought approval to end enforcement of the Civil Rights Act in cases of "disparate impact" on minorities. According to Civil rights groups, not being able to use disparate impact analysis would result in less accountability for organizations with policies that result in racially disparate outcomes, such as discipline for students of color, and treatment of residents of color by their city's police force.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In September 2020, the Trump administration formed the 1776 Commission as rebuke to the 1619 Project, and "as a rebuttal to schools applying a more accurate history curriculum around slavery in the US". The commission was part of Trump's response to the Black Lives Matter anti-racism protests, that followed the murder of George Floyd. Trump stated that "the left-wing rioting and mayhem are the direct result of decades of left-wing indoctrination in our schools." The commission was chaired by Carol Swain and Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College. On January 18, 2021 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), the commisiom released a report. Commenting on the Civil Rights movement, the report said "[the movement] almost immediately turned to programs that ran counter to the lofty ideals of the founders." The executive director of the American Historical Association, noted that the commission did not include a single professional United States historian. He commented, "They’re using something they call history to stoke culture wars".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The Community Relations Service (CRS) is part of the United States Department of Justice. The office is intended to act as a peacemaker for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and religion. During Trumps term in office the CRS was targeted for elimination or severe staffing reductions. The president of one advocacy group, Asian Americans advancing Justice, spoke out saying the administration threatened to discontinue its entire budget, which had ranged between $15 million and $16 million.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In June 2020, Facebook removed Trump campaign ads that included an upside down red triangle, a symbol which the Nazis had used to label opponents of their regime. The Trump campaign claimed that the symbol was widely used by Antifa, but experts stated that this is inaccurate and that Antifa use of the symbol is very obscure. Some critics viewed the Trump campaign's use of the symbol as a racist dog whistle. Facebook stated that "We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: During an August 13, 2020, press conference President Trump was asked whether Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's 2020 nominee for VP, was constitutionally eligible to be vice president. The question arose after John C. Eastman, a professor at Chapman University, wrote an op-ed in "Newsweek" claiming that Harris was not actually an American citizen, since neither of the parents were United States citizens at the time of her birth (a fringe interpretation of the Constitution's Citizenship Clause). The reporter commented "there are claims circulating in social media that Kamala Harris is not eligible to be... to run for vice president because she was an anchor baby, I think" and asked Trump "do you or can you definitively say whether or not Kamala Harris is eligible, meets the legal requirements, to run as vice president?"


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump's reply did not acknowledge an understanding of what the slang "anchor baby" means (a child born within the United States to a non-citizen mother) or that Harris was born in California.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The female reporter corrected Trump, saying: "No, she was born in this country but her parents did not, uh, the claims say her parents did not receive their permanent residency at that time". Trump replied "Yeah, I don't know about it, I just heard about it, I'll take a look."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump was widely criticized for promoting a racist conspiracy theory that has been thoroughly debunked. The Biden campaign slammed the president, describing Trump's promotion of the conspiracy theory as "abhorrent", and also criticized his role in the birther movement against former president Obama.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Some commentators considered Trump's comments to be a racist and anti-immigrant attack, undermining the legitimacy of the children of immigrants of color as legitimate Americans. Tamara Keith also pointed out that Trump's own mother immigrated to the United States from Scotland. Mary on her 1930 arrival had declared she intended to become a U.S. citizen and would be staying permanently in America. Mary received a U.S. Re-entry Permit only granted to immigrants intending to stay and gain citizenship. Although her 1940 census after her 1936 marriage to Fred Trump described her as a "naturalized citizen", Mary was only a Permanent Resident at that point, not becoming a full citizen until March 1942, four years prior to Donald's birth in 1946.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On August 30, 2020, Trump retweeted a video showing white woman being shoved into a subway by a black man. The video was labeled "Black Lives Matter/Antifa" but in reality the video depicted a mentally ill individual with no connection to either group. The video was originally posted on social media by a white nationalist.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: At a September 18, 2020, rally in Bemidji, Minnesota, Trump told a mostly white audience, "You have good genes, you know that, right? You have good genes. A lot of it is about the genes, isn't it, don't you believe? The racehorse theory? You think we're so different. You have good genes in Minnesota."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: At a debate with presidential candidate Joe Biden on September 29, 2020, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would “condemn white supremacists and groups to say they need to stand down and not add to the violence." Trump responded, “Sure. I’m willing to do that.” Trump asked for clarification, saying: "Who would you like me to condemn?" Biden said the Proud Boys. Trump then stated "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: One researcher said that Proud Boys memberships on Telegram channels grew nearly 10 percent after the debate. "The Washington Post" reported that Trump's comments were quickly "enshrined in memes, including one depicting Trump in one of the Proud Boys' signature polo shirts. Another meme showed Trump's quote alongside an image of bearded men carrying American flags and appearing to prepare for a fight. A third incorporated "STAND BACK AND STAND BY" into the group's logo."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The following day when asked about his comments he replied, "I don't know who the Proud Boys are. I mean, you'll have to give me a definition, because I really don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work...the problem is on the left." When asked directly if he would denounce white supremacy later on that day, Trump replied, "I've always denounced -- any form, any form, any form of any of that -- you have to denounce." Appearing on Sean Hannity's Fox show, Trump said "I've said it many times, and let me be clear again: I condemn the [Ku Klux Klan]. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I don’t know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing. But I condemn that."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: "NPR" journalist William Brangham spoke with Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Kathleen Belew, a historian at the University of Chicago who studies the white power movement in America. Belew noted that the white power movement took his words to mean "stand by for further action," as evidenced by the fact that his words had now been incorporated into their logo design. Nelson commented, "What we witnessed last night was the president of the United States, with all the country and all the world watching, stand in solidarity with white supremacy. And, unlike his previous comments, this time, he spoke directly to them. He told them to stand back and stand by."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In October 2022, Trump made a post on his social media website Truth Social attacking Mitch McConnell and his Taiwanese wife, Elaine Chao, calling her "China loving wife, Coco Chow". Chao served under the Trump administration as Secretary of Transportation and has been an American citizen for over 50 years. After the 2022 midterms, Trump made a post on Truth Social attacking Virginia's Republican governor Glenn Youngkin and deliberately misspelled his named as "Young Kin" and said "Sounds Chinese, doesn't it?". His comments were described as racist by some, including Maryland's Republican governor Larry Hogan. In another post a few days later, he again used the nickname Coco Chow to refer to McConnell's wife.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In late November 2022, Kanye West (who had recently announced his own candidacy for the 2024 presidential election) visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago, along with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. On November 24, West released a video in which he stated that Trump began screaming at him and telling him that he was going to lose after West asked Trump to be his vice-presidential candidate, stating, "Trump started basically screaming at me at the table telling me I was going to lose — I mean has that ever worked for anyone in history. I'm like hold on, hold on, hold on, Trump, you're talking to Ye". Trump, for his part, released a statement that after contacting him earlier in the week to arrange the visit, West "unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about", with whom Trump dined, and that "the dinner was quick and uneventful".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Donald Trump has been accused of "inflaming racial, ethnic and religious tensions across the United States." The Southern Poverty Law Center recorded 867 "hate incidents" in the 10 days after the US election, a phenomenon it partly blamed on Trump's rhetoric. They consider the actual number of incidents to be much higher because most hate crimes go unreported. SPLC president J. Richard Cohen blamed the recent surge on the divisive language used by Trump throughout his campaign. In a statement he said: "Mr Trump claims he's surprised his election has unleashed a barrage of hate across the country. But he shouldn't be. It's the predictable result of the campaign he waged."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In 2016, US attorney general Loretta Lynch said FBI statistics for 2015 showed a 67% increase in hate crimes against Muslim Americans; hate crimes against Jews, African Americans, and LGBT individuals increased as well. Lynch reported a 6% overall increase, though she said the number could be higher because many incidents go unreported. In New York City the number of hate crimes increased 31.5% in the year from 2015 to 2016. Mayor Bill de Blasio commented, "A lot of us are very concerned that a lot of divisive speech was used during the campaign by the President-elect, and we do not yet know what the impact of that will be on our country."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Between 2014 and 2018, the number of hate groups skyrocketed 30%, reaching 892 in 2015; 917 in 2016; 954 in 2017; and to a record number 1,020 in 2018. According to Mark Potok at the SPLC, Donald Trump's presidential campaign speeches "demonizing statements about Latinos and Muslims have electrified the radical right, leading to glowing endorsements from white nationalist leaders such as Jared Taylor and former Klansman David Duke".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The Ku Klux Klan held a rally at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017. Former grand wizard David Duke spoke calling the demonstrations a "turning point" saying, "We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That's what we believed in. That's why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he's going to take our country back."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: A 2018 study found that Trump's anti-establishment campaign positions, for example his frequent "drain the swamp" rhetoric, was less of a draw for voters than were his negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities and sexism. One study found that "Trump's rhetoric and rallies served to heighten white identity and increase the perceived threat facing white


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Americans [and found] that counties which hosted a Trump rally saw a 226% increase in hate-motivated incidents."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: In 2019, the Brookings Institution reported that statistics show that Trump's racist rhetoric has resulted in an increase in violence in America. Their study found "substantial evidence that Trump has encouraged racism and benefitted politically from it." Looking at hate crime figures in which Trump had won the election they found a jump of hate crimes, the second largest jump in 25 years, the first being September 11, 2001.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: A survey of over 10,000 teachers conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project after the 2016 presidential election showed that "the results of the election are having a profoundly negative impact on schools and students." Most respondents believe the impact will be long-lasting. Respondents reported an increase in "verbal harassment, the use of slurs and derogatory language, and disturbing incidents involving swastikas, Nazi salutes and Confederate flags". "Nearly a third of the incidents were motivated by anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-black incidents were the second-most common, with frequent references to lynching. Antisemitic and anti-Muslim attacks were common as well. The SPLC believes "the dynamics and incidents these educators reported are nothing short of a crisis and should be treated as such." SPLC president Richard Cohen commented, "We've seen Donald Trump behave like a 12 year old, and now we're seeing 12 year olds behave like Donald Trump."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: A 2020 survey of news stories since Trump's election found 300 reports that involved incidents of student bullying that were related to Trump's remarks or his MAGA campaign chants. At least three-quarters of the attacks were directed at black, Hispanic or Muslim students, but the report also found 45 cases of students being attacked because they were Trump supporters.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The survey found that parents, players, or fans had used Trump's name or his words at least 48 times directed at students competing in elementary, middle and high school sporting events. Since most incidents are never reported it is believed that the figures they found are only a fraction of the actual total.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Sociologist Margaret Hagerman studies and writes about young people's views on racism and current events in America. In her latest work, published in 2018, she reports on her conversations with young people as related to the election of Trump as president. She writes:


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) have criticized Trump for "repeatedly stirring racial controversies." Emanuel Cleaver, former head of the CBC, voiced concerns when Trump began raising doubts about President Obama's birthplace: "I don't know if the people around the country understand that he has launched ... an assault against African-American people starting with his refusal to accept the first African-American president, by continuing to declare that he was from Kenya. No other president in history has had to face that kind of criticism. We've come to conclude that this is a part of his belief system."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Some lawmakers protested by refusing to attend Trump's 2018 State of the Union Address. John Lewis said "I've got to be moved by my conscience," and Barbara Lee said "This president does not respect the office, he dishonors it." Frederica Wilson, whom Trump called "wacky" after she supported the wife of a soldier killed in Niger, also skipped the address. Maxine Waters released a video response wherein she said, "He claims that he's bringing people together but make no mistake, he is a dangerous, unprincipled, divisive, and shameful racist." Other black lawmakers attended the address wearing kente stoles as a show of support following Trump's "shithole" comments about African and other countries.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Almost two-thirds of the CBC have backed efforts to impeach Donald Trump in House floor votes forced by Representative Al Green. Green's articles of impeachment assert that Trump has "brought the high office of president of the United States in contempt, ridicule, disgrace and disrepute" and "has sown discord among the people of the United States".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump has repeatedly denied claims that he is racist, often stating that he is "the least racist person". Various friends, members of his administration and people who have known him, including some black Americans, have stated that Trump is not racist. Ben Carson explained his evidence for this belief, stating "When he bought Mar-a-Lago, he was the one who fought for Jews and blacks to be included in the clubs that were trying to exclude them. You know, people say he's a racist, he is not a racist." At the 2020 Republican National Convention, Herschel Walker, a close friend of Trump's for 37 years, defended him from charges of racism, saying "Growing up in the Deep South I've seen racism up close. I know what it is, and it isn't Donald Trump."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Though perceived as anti-immigrant, Trump is himself the son of an immigrant mother and has twice married wives who were immigrants. He has often celebrated his immigrant heritage. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Trump defended himself against accusations that his immigration policies were racist, stating "I will never apologize for pledging to enforce and uphold every single law of the United States, and to make my immigration priority defending and protecting American citizens above every other single consideration."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Though it is sometimes claimed that President Trump has not adequately condemned white supremacy, he has denounced it on various occasions in response to these allegations. In a 2017 prepared statement following criticism of his initial remarks on the attacks in Charlottesville, Virginia, he stated "Racism is evil—and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans". In a 2019 response to mass shootings he stated "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Trump and his allies have often pointed to record-low unemployment numbers among blacks and Hispanics during his presidency as evidence that he is not a racist and that his administration is benefiting racial minorities. In 2019, Trump received an award from the 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center for his administration's work to pass the First Step Act, which granted early release to thousands of non-violent offenders who were serving time in federal prisons. Evidence suggests black men were the main beneficiaries of the Act.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: From the outset of his campaign, Trump was endorsed by various white nationalist and white supremacist movements and leaders. On February 24, 2016, David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, expressed vocal support for Trump's campaign on his radio show. Shortly thereafter in an interview with Jake Tapper, Trump repeatedly claimed to be ignorant of Duke and his support. Republican presidential rivals were quick to respond on his wavering, and Senator Marco Rubio stated the Duke endorsement made Trump un-electable. Others questioned his professed ignorance of Duke by pointing out that in 2000, Trump called him a "Klansman". Trump later blamed the incident on a poor earpiece he was given by CNN. Later the same day Trump stated that he had previously disavowed Duke in a tweet posted with a video on his Twitter account. On March 3, 2016, Trump stated: "David Duke is a bad person, who I disavowed on numerous occasions over the years. I disavowed him. I disavowed the KKK."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On July 22, 2016 (the day after Trump's nomination), Duke announced that he will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana. He commented, "I'm overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I've championed for years." A spokesperson for the Trump campaign said Trump "has disavowed David Duke and will continue to do so."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: On August 25, 2016, Clinton gave a speech saying that Trump is "taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party." She identified this radical fringe with the "Alt-right", a largely online variation of American far-right that embraces white nationalism and is anti-immigration. During the election season, the Alt-right movement "evangelized" online in support of racist and anti-semitic ideologies. Clinton noted that Trump's campaign chief executive Stephen Bannon described his Breitbart News Network as "the platform for the alt-right." On September 9, 2016, several leaders of the alt-right community held a press conference, described by one reporter as the "coming-out party" of the little-known movement, to explain their goals. They affirmed their racialist beliefs, stating "Race is real, race matters, and race is the foundation of identity." Speakers called for a "White Homeland" and expounded on racial differences in intelligence. They also confirmed their support of Trump, saying "This is what a leader looks like."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Richard Spencer, who runs the white nationalist National Policy Institute, said, "Before Trump, our identity ideas, national ideas, they had no place to go". The editor of the Neo-Nazi website "The Daily Stormer" stated, "Virtually every alt-right Nazi I know is volunteering for the Trump campaign." Rocky Suhayda, chairman of the American Nazi Party, said that although Trump "isn't one of us," his election would be a "real opportunity" for the white nationalist movement.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Neo-Nazi James Mason expressed that the election of Donald Trump gave him hope, commenting that "in order to Make America Great Again, you have to make it white again".


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: The Southern Poverty Law Center monitored Trump's campaign throughout the election and noted several instances where Trump and lower-level surrogates either used white nationalist rhetoric or engaged with figures in the white nationalist movement.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: According to 2021 study in "Public Opinion Quarterly", Trump's candidacy simultaneously attracted whites with extreme views on race and made his white supporters more likely to express more extreme views on race.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Following the incident in which Trump referred to several nations as "shithole countries", some media commentators moved from describing certain words and actions of Trump as manifesting racism, to calling Trump racist. David Brooks, speaking on "PBS NewsHour", called the president's statements "pretty clearly racist" and said, "It fits into a pattern that we have seen since the beginning of his career, maybe through his father's career, frankly. There's been a consistency, pattern of harsh judgment against black and brown people." Trump has been called a racist by a number of "New York Times" columnists including Nicholas Kristof ("I don't see what else we can call him but a racist"), Charles M. Blow ("Trump Is a Racist. Period."), and David Leonhardt ("Donald Trump is a racist"). Additionally, John Cassidy of "The New Yorker" concluded, "we have a racist in the Oval Office." CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta said the "Washington Post" report combined with statements made in 2016 and 2017 shows "the president seems to harbor racist feelings about people of color from other parts of the world."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Conservative pundit and former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, when asked in an interview in January 2018 if he thought Trump was a racist replied, "Yeah, I do. At this point the evidence is incontrovertible." Speaking on MSNBC, Steele said, "There are a whole lot of folks like Donald Trump. White folks in this country who have a problem with the browning of America. When they talk about [wanting] their country back, they are talking about a country that was very safely white, less brown and less committed to that browning process."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Australian political commentator and former Liberal party leader John Hewson writes in January 2018 that he believes the recent global movements against traditional politics and politicians are based on racism and prejudice. He comments: "There should be little doubt about US President Donald Trump's views on race, despite his occasional 'denials', assertions of 'fake news', and/or his semantic distinctions. His election campaign theme was effectively a promise to 'Make America Great Again; America First and Only' and—nod, nod, wink, wink—to Make America White Again." In July 2019, five "New York Times" writers stated that Trump has "decades" of history where he exploited "America's racial, ethnic and religious divisions" for personal gains of "ratings, fame, money or power", while ignoring negative consequences.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Following Trump's defense of Confederate symbols in 2020, several journalists and pundits accused Trump of being racist and pandering to white voters. CNN host Anderson Cooper said, "Instead of talking about the virus and doing things about it, he's spending his time trying to distract now with racist and jingoistic talk... He's now just leaning full into the racist he's long been." Author and former Republican political strategist Rick Wilson said, "Bannon sold him on the 'whites are 62% of the electorate, and we need to simply top out their numbers to win' argument very early... Plus, he's a racist." Conservative political columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote, "[Trump] is making racist statements and venerating racist symbols... It is part of decades of racist rhetoric. Let's not mince words." Author and columnist Dana Milbank wrote, "To the extent Trump's racist provocation is a strategy (rather than simply an instinct), it is a miscalculation... Trump's racism has alienated a large number of white people."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Doug McAdam writes that Trump "is just giving unusually loud and frank voice to views already typical among large numbers of Republicans" and "has pushed the GOP toward ever further racist and nativist extremes." McAdam believes that the Republican Party shift away from more liberal views on matters of racial equality began with Richard Nixon's presidency.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said "What Trump is doing has popped up periodically, but in modern times, no president has been so racially insensitive and shown outright disdain for people who aren't white."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: George Yancy, a professor at Emory University known for his work on racial issues, concluded that Trump is racist, describing his outlook as "a case of unabashed white supremacist ideas."


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Speaking shortly after Trump's election in 2016, John Mcwhorter discussed the fact that 8% of black voters and around 25% of Latinos voted for Donald Trump, saying "many would see it as 'conservative' for a person of color to vote for a racist, as if it were still a time when racism was socially acceptable." In his view, people of color who voted for Trump were willing to look beyond Trump's racism to the promise of economic improvement.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: David P. Bryden, a professor of law emeritus at the University of Minnesota, suggested that Trump was willing to "vilif[y] all those of any race whom he regards as obstacles to his ambitions." According to Bryden, Trump's targets are largely from minority groups because he wants to appeal to white working class voters who believe that progressives resent them.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Pulido et al. published a study in 2018 comparing racism and environmental deregulation during the first year of Trump's presidency. The authors described that "transgressive" racism, or "spectacular" racism, is a "hallmark" of Trump's presidential campaign and presidency, with Trump employing it for "numerous political objectives, including dehumanizing his targets, consolidating his power, eroding democratic norms, and distracting from policy and legal changes". The result of Trump's racism is that "U.S. racial formation" has changed. "Overt white supremacy" has emerged in racial culture. The authors document that in the first year of Trump's presidency, there were 83 racial actions and 173 environmental actions; meanwhile there were 271 instances of racial speech and 22 instances of environmental speech. The authors concluded that "actions were more likely to be environmentally related, whereas rhetoric was more likely to be racist", further positing that "spectacular racism has helped obscure the relatively smooth and devastating deregulation." However, the authors also cautioned that the numbers of actions taken "do not indicate impact", specifically pointing to the Muslim ban and restriction of asylum claims.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: According to an August 2016 Suffolk University poll, 7% of those planning to vote for Trump thought he was racist. A November 2016 "Post"-ABC poll found that 50% of Americans thought Trump was biased against black people; the figure was 75% among black Americans. According to an October 2017 Politico/Morning Consult poll, 45% of voters thought Trump was a racist while 40% thought he was not.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: A Quinnipiac poll asking the question, "Since the election of Donald Trump, do you believe the level of hatred and prejudice in the U.S. has increased, the level of hatred and prejudice has decreased, or hasn't it changed either way" was conducted in December 2017. Of the respondents, 62% believed that the level had increased, 4% felt that it had decreased, and 31% felt it was without change.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: A Quinnipiac poll conducted in January 2018 after Trump's Oval Office comments about immigration showed that 58 percent of American voters found the comments to be racist, while 59 percent said that he does not respect people of color as much as he respects white people.


title: Racial views of Donald Trump

text: Analysis of pre- and post-election surveys from the American National Election Studies, as well as numerous other surveys and studies, show that since the rise of Trump in the Republican Party, attitudes towards racism have become a more significant factor than economic issues in determining voters' party allegiance. According to a July 2019 Politico/Morning Consult poll, 54% of American voters viewed Trump as racist and 38% did not. A Quinnipiac University poll released in July found that 51% of voters believed that Trump is a racist while 45% said that he is not.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, , formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark, ("née" Alexandra Christina Manley; born 30 June 1964) is the former wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger son of Margrethe II of Denmark.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: She was born in Hong Kong and is of mixed Asian-European ancestry. She was introduced to Prince Joachim in 1994. They married in 1995 and had two sons together, then divorced in 2005.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Of English, Chinese, and Austrian ancestry, Alexandra Manley (文雅麗) was born in Hong Kong, as the eldest of three daughters of Richard Nigel Manley (born in Shanghai, China on 11 August 1924 to a father of English and Chinese ancestry and died on 12 January 2010, buried 10 February 2010 in Liesing Cemetery, Vienna) and Christa Maria Manley (born Christa Maria Nowotny in Austria in 1933 (Austrian). Her father was an insurance company executive and her mother was the manager of a communications company. She was christened at the Cathedral of Saint John, Hong Kong. She attended Quarry Bay Junior School (1969–1971), Glenealy School (1971–1974) and Island School (1974–1982), all in Hong Kong.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Manley studied international business at Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria. She also went to Japan and England for studies. It is not known whether she obtained a university degree. From 1990 to 1995, she was employed by GT Management (Asia) Ltd., Hong Kong, where from 1990 to 1993 she worked in Sales and Marketing and from 1993 as a deputy chief executive of that department.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Alexandra met Prince Joachim at a private dinner in Hong Kong in January 1994, where he was working for a Danish shipping company. After a whirlwind courtship, thought to have begun in late 1994, Prince Joachim presented Alexandra with a diamond and ruby engagement ring while on vacation in the Philippines. Their engagement was officially announced in May 1995.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: They were married on 18 November 1995, by Queen Margrethe's Chaplain-in-Ordinary, in Frederiksborg Castle Church, the Chapel of the Order of the Elephant, in Hillerød. The wedding festivities were held at Fredensborg Palace. The bride's gown was designed by Jørgen Bender and she wore the Alexandrine Drop Tiara, originally the property of Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which was a wedding gift from Queen Margrethe.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: When Alexandra married Joachim, she gave up her career in marketing. It is believed that she had renounced her British citizenship prior to become a Danish subject upon her marriage.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: During their 9-year marriage, Joachim and Alexandra welcomed two sons. On 28 August 1999, Prince Nikolai, the first grandchild of the Queen and Prince Consort, was born. His younger brother, Prince Felix, followed three years later on 22 July 2002.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Alexandra became popular with the Danish people. Known for her fashion sense and charity work, she was dubbed the Diana of the North. She is a native English and German speaker (through her father and mother, respectively), and her fluency in German helped her pick up the Danish language quickly. Within a few months, she spoke it nearly without an accent, which further endeared her to the Danes. As she said in an interview, "I don't find the grammar especially difficult, but the pronunciation can be hard, since we swallow some of our words. It reminds me a little of Chinese, with the glottal stop … Saying something with an upswing or a downswing can give a word an entirely different meaning," she explained. "It was my decision to learn the language immediately. It would have been terrible to have to stand up and speak English at an engagement, or thank someone for something. It would have been utterly wrong. This is my home, and so there was no other option".


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Both during and after her marriage, she was involved in numerous philanthropic pursuits, including the Youth Red Cross, the Danish Society for the Blind, UNICEF, and single mothers' advocacy group, Mother Help. She also served as a UNICEF ambassador when she travelled to Thailand to visit HIV/AIDS patients.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: On 16 September 2004, Alexandra and Joachim announced their separation and eventual intention to divorce. It would be the first in the Royal Family since 1846. The Folketing decided to put Alexandra on the civil list for life, independent of her possible future remarriage. Alexandra's payments of her new yearly allowance of 2.1m kroner (US$330,000) started retroactively from 1 October 2004. The couple divorced on 8 April 2005.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: On 23 June 2017, she announced that she would renounce her entitlement to the Danish civil list in July 2020, coinciding with the 18th birthday of Prince Felix.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: As early as mid-2005, there were reports and pictures of Alexandra with Martin Jørgensen, the son of Jacob Jørgensen, a well-known film producer whose company, JJ Film, has produced – and continues to produce – numerous documentaries in which the Danish royal family has participated.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Alexandra married Martin Jørgensen on 3 March 2007 in a private ceremony at Øster Egede Church near Fakse. She was walked down the aisle by her sons, Nikolai and Felix. Aside from the young princes, no one from the Danish royal family attended the ceremony. In September 2015, it was announced that Jørgensen and the Countess were divorcing after eight and a half years of marriage. The Countess had cited differences in values as the reason for the divorce. The divorce was finalised in 2015.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: In 2007, the Countess of Frederiksborg joined the Danish board of directors of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. In 2017, it was announced that she would take up the position of Poling Chair of Business and Government at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Alexandra still occasionally attends events with her former husband and the rest of the Danish royal family. Among other events, in 2012, she attended a gala performance at Koncerthuset in honour of Queen Margrethe II's 40th jubilee, and in 2018, she attended the gala dinner for her former brother-in-law Crown Prince Frederik's 50th birthday at Christiansborg Palace.


title: Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg

text: Alexandra Manley became known as "Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Denmark" upon her marriage to Prince Joachim. After her divorce, she assumed the lesser style of "Her Highness" and was granted the additional title "Countess of Frederiksborg". She lost her princely title upon remarriage and became known as "Her Excellency Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg".


title: Young Kim

text: Young Oak Kim (; born October 18, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the U.S. representative for California's 39th congressional district. Her district includes northern parts of Orange County. In the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, Kim, Michelle Park Steel, and Marilyn Strickland became the first three Korean-American women elected to the United States Congress. Kim and Steel are also the first Korean-Americans elected to Congress from California since Jay Kim.


title: Young Kim

text: A member of the Republican Party, Young Kim served as the California State Assemblywoman for the 65th district from 2014 to 2016, defeating the incumbent Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva in 2014. Kim lost the seat in a rematch with Quirk-Silva in 2016. Kim was the first South Korean-born Republican woman elected to the California State Legislature.


title: Young Kim

text: In 2018, Kim was the Republican nominee in California's 39th congressional district, narrowly losing to Democrat Gil Cisneros in the general election. In 2020, Kim defeated Cisneros in a rematch. Along with Steel and David Valadao, Kim was among the first three Republican candidates to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in California since 1994.


title: Young Kim

text: Kim was born in 1962 in Incheon, South Korea, and spent her childhood in Seoul. She and her family left South Korea in 1975, living first in Guam, where she finished junior high school, and then Hawaii, where she attended high school. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.


title: Young Kim

text: After graduating from USC, Kim worked as a financial analyst for First Interstate Bank and then as a controller for JK Sportswear Manufacturing. She also started her own business in the clothing industry.


title: Young Kim

text: Kim worked for state senator Ed Royce after her husband met Royce while promoting a nonprofit organization, the Korean American Coalition. After Royce was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Kim worked for 21 years as his community liaison and director of Asian affairs. During much of that time she also appeared regularly on her own television show, "LA Seoul with Young Kim", and her radio show, "Radio Seoul", on which she discussed political issues affecting Korean Americans.


title: Young Kim

text: Kim was elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Democratic Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. In 2016, Quirk-Silva defeated Kim.


title: Young Kim

text: In 2017, Kim announced her candidacy for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a nonpartisan office, in the 4th district, which includes Fullerton, Placentia, La Habra, and Brea, plus portions of Anaheim and Buena Park. In January 2018, immediately after Royce announced his retirement, Kim announced that she would instead enter the race to succeed Royce as the representative for California's 39th congressional district. Royce endorsed Kim the day after announcing his retirement. Kim received the most votes in the primary election among a field of 17 candidates, allowing her to advance to the general election along with the Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros.


title: Young Kim

text: Polls showed a tight race throughout the campaign, and FiveThirtyEight called the race a toss-up. Early results on the night of the election showed Kim with a 52.5%-47.5% lead, but she ultimately lost to Cisneros, who received 51.6% of the vote to Kim's 48.4% after mail-in ballots were counted. As the ongoing ballot count showed Kim losing the race, she made allegations of voter fraud but provided no evidence. She conceded on November 18.


title: Young Kim

text: In April 2019, Kim announced that she would run again to represent the 39th district. Immediately after her announcement, top party officials rallied behind her, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. In the March 2020 jungle primary, Kim received 48.3% of the vote to Cisneros's 46.9%, and thus both advanced out of the primary to a rematch.


title: Young Kim

text: Kim proved to be one of the top House fund-raising challengers across the nation, outraising Cisneros $6.16 million to $4.36 million. Unlike in the previous cycle, most election observers rated the race "Lean Democrat", with FiveThirtyEight predicting Kim had a 26% chance of winning.


title: Young Kim

text: At the end of election night, Kim led by about 1,000 votes. As mail-in ballots were counted, her lead continued to grow, in contrast to the trend in the previous election. The Associated Press projected her as the winner on November 13. She won even as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden carried the district by 10 points. Kim, Michelle Steel and Marilyn Strickland became the first Korean-American women elected to Congress.


title: Young Kim

text: In December 2021, Kim announced that she would seek reelection in California's 40th congressional district, due to redistricting.


title: Young Kim

text: On January 6, 2021, Kim voted to certify Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, declining to support Republican-led efforts to contest the results.


title: Young Kim

text: On January 13, 2021, Kim voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump. She said she supported censuring Trump but not impeaching him.


title: Young Kim

text: On February 4, 2021, Kim joined 10 other Republican House members voting with all voting Democrats to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her Education and Labor Committee and Budget Committee assignments in response to controversial political statements she had made.


title: Young Kim

text: On February 25, 2021, Kim voted against the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to explicitly include new protections. In a subsequent statement, Kim stated that she believed that all people should be treated with respect and given equal opportunities, but justified her vote on the grounds that the bill "undermines Americans’ religious freedoms, limits protections for people of faith and opens the door to ending the decades-long bipartisan Hyde Amendment."


title: Young Kim

text: On February 27, 2021, Kim joined all Republicans to vote against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, citing lack of bipartisanship and criticizing the bill for only having 9% of the funding directly going toward combating COVID-19, with most of the aid not spent until 2022.


title: Young Kim

text: Kim is rated among the most centrist of Republican representatives by Govtrack, based on patterns of sponsorship and co-sponsorship of legislation with Democrats. She voted opposite to the majority of the Republican caucus on several key votes, among them the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and a bill to delay spending cuts in Medicare and other services. Kim voted with the majority of the Republican caucus 96% of the time.