US Politics
Far more Americans believe Trump is racist than not, poll finds
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Nearly twice as many Americans believe President Donald Trump is racist as believe he is not, according to a new survey, which comes after the president repeatedly rejected this allegation.
In the February poll from The Economist/YouGov, respondents were asked whether or not they would use the word racist to describe the 79-year-old Republican president.
Nearly half, 47 percent, said they would use this descriptor, while 24 percent said they would not — and 29 percent expressed no opinion.
Unsurprisingly, the results were sharply divided based on partisan affiliation, with 90 percent of Democrats, 48 percent of independents and just 5 percent of Republicans saying the term applied to the president.
The poll was conducted February 13-16 with 1,682 U.S. citizens, the vast majority of whom were registered voters. It had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
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On Tuesday, Trump used the death of Reverend Jesse Jackson, a longtime civil rights leader, to rebuff allegations of bigotry.
“Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The following day, the billionaire president again defended himself during a Black History Month event at the White House by citing his friendship with boxer Mike Tyson.
“Mike has been loyal to me,” he told a crowd of supporters at the executive mansion. “Whenever they come out, they say, ‘Trump’s a racist’ — You know, it’s like a statement: ‘Trump’s a racist’ — Mike Tyson goes, ‘He’s not a racist. He’s my friend.’”
His most recent remarks came about two weeks after a video portraying the Obamas as apes was posted to his Truth Social account, sparking bipartisan condemnation and calls of it being racist.
Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, called it “the most racist” thing he had seen from the White House. Senator Rodger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, called it “totally unacceptable” and called on Trump to apologize.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed criticism of the clip, calling out “fake outrage.” Hours later, though, the video was taken down and a White House official blamed a staffer for posting it “erroneously.”