Most Americans say Donald Trump is racist, new poll says

WASHINGTON—More than half of Americans, including large majorities of Blacks and Hispanics, think President Donald Trump is a racist. More than half think his policies have made things worse for Hispanics and Muslims, and nearly half say they’ve made things worse for African Americans.
According to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 57 per cent of Americans think Trump’s policies have been bad for Muslims, and 56 per cent think they’ve been bad for Hispanics. Forty-seven per cent, including three-quarters of Blacks, think they’ve been bad for African Americans.
Fifty-seven per cent of all adults, including more than 8 in 10 Blacks, three-quarters of Hispanics and nearly half of whites, said they think Trump is racist. Eighty-five per cent of Democrats consider Trump racist, but just 21 per cent of Republicans agree.
The results show a stark divide on racial issues gripping the country during the presidency of Trump, who has made divisive comments after a white nationalist rally, called African nations “s—holes,” and promised to build a wall along the Mexican border to prevent immigrants from entering the country illegally.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the poll’s findings. When asked earlier this year what he thinks about people who think he is racist, Trump replied, “No, no. I am not a racist.” He also told reporters: “I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.”
The poll, designed to highlight the views of African Americans as Black History Month draws to a close, shows deep pessimism among Black people about the state of politics and the country. It finds that more than 9 in 10 of Blacks disapprove of how Trump is handling his job as president, 9 in 10 think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and three-quarters think that direction has worsened in the last year.
By comparison, 45 per cent of whites approve of the job Trump is doing, though only 35 per cent think the direction of the country is improving.
About half of all Americans, including two-thirds of African Americans, think that race relations in the United States have worsened over the past year, the poll shows.