Donald Trump has historically insisted that he is the “least racist person.” Following his publication of a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes earlier this month, President Trump said that he is “the least racist president you’ve had in a long time.” Let’s take a look at five examples of Trump being the “least racist” to Black Americans.
1. Housing Discrimination Lawsuits
Trump’s “least racist” actions didn’t start with his presidency. Back in 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Donald Trump, his father, and their company, Trump Management Inc., for violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by systematically discriminating against Black apartment applicants. One of these applicants, Annette Gandy Fortt, was twice turned away from one of their apartment complexes. The New York City Human Rights Commission then sent a white person to apply for housing within the same complex. They were offered the apartment. After they reached a settlement agreement, Trump confided to a federal prosecutor, “You don’t want to live with them either.” Trump would not rent to Black applicants, showcasing his “least racist” tendencies.
2. Central Park Five Death Penalty Advocacy
The Central Park Five refers to Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise–five Black and Latino boys aged 14 to 16 who were falsely convicted of the brutal assault of a white jogger, Tricia Meili, in April 1989. Meili was found severely beaten in Central Park and spent 12 days in a coma following the attack.
On the same night, the five boys happened to be in the area around the time of the attack. Throughout the police interrogation, the five boys were coerced into giving false testimonies after being questioned without lawyers or their parents present. In a 2016 interview with the Guardian, Salaam stated, “I would hear them beating up Korey Wise in the next room… They would come and look at me and say: ‘You realise you’re next’…The fear made me feel really like I was not going to be able to make it out.”
They were subsequently convicted in 1990 of charges including rape, assault, robbery, sexual abuse and attempted murder for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite the lack of evidence, they individually served between seven and 13 years in prison before being exonerated in 2002.
Donald Trump was a major advocate against the five in this case, specifically calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty. He reportedly paid $85,000 for advertising space in four major New York City newspapers, including The New York Times. “They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence,” Trump wrote.
3. Britain First Retweets
During Trump’s first term, he retweeted three posts from the Britain First account. Britain First is a notoriously far-right, white nationalist and fascist political party based in the U.K. A former deputy leader of Britain First, Ashlea Simon, openly claimed that “English people can’t be Black, English blood is white”. While the posts were mainly rooted in Islamophobic rhetoric rather than racism against Black Americans, platforming an infamously white nationalist party in any capacity obviously raises concerns for Black people in America.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Trump’s response to the backlash was “I didn’t know that… I know nothing about them.” He then doubled down on the content of the retweets, stating that “radical Islamic terror, whether you like it or not, is fact,” despite admitting that the content was unverified. He did, however, offer something that resembled an apology, stating, “If you are telling me they’re horrible people, horrible, racist people, I would certainly apologise if you’d like me to do that.” Of course, this was coupled with “I’m the least racist person that anybody is going to meet!”
4. ‘I Have A Great Relationship With the Blacks!’
In a 2011 radio interview, Trump said, “I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.” Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. Calling Black Americans “the Blacks,” carries a loaded and racist connotation. Using the word “the” before referencing a racial group highlights the group’s otherness from the speaker. “There’s this distancing effect, like they’re over there,” Eastern Michigan University linguist Eric Acton told Business Insider. “They’re signaling they’re not part of it—they’re distancing themselves from it.”
It is also incredibly dehumanizing to refer to a group of marginalized people in this manner. It suggests that the group is a monolith, homogenized by a shared characteristic. This verbiage clearly indicates that Trump is “the least racist person that you’ve ever encountered.”
5. ‘Laziness Is A Trait In Blacks’
According to the 1991 book “Trumped!”, Trump made the alleged comment regarding laziness in Black people around 1988 or 1989, during his time as owner of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. The author and former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino President, John R. O’Donnell, claimed that Trump made this assertion in regard to a Black finance employee. O’Donnell alleges that Trump said, “I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not something they can control. … Don’t you agree?”
It is also stated in “Trumped!” that Trump said, “Isn’t it funny, I’ve got black accountants at the Trump Castle and at Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it.” While this is a secondhand quote, Trump initially did not dispute it, stating, “The stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true.” He later recanted this statement, saying, “I’ve never said anything like it, ever.” This obviously must be true, considering that he himself said that “I’m not a racist. I am the least racist person.”
Looking at all of these examples, it is easy to come to the conclusion that Trump is “the least racist person,” to Black Americans, right?
Featured image credit: 2026 Anti ICE Protest / Nora Khatib
