Donald Trump is one of the most divisive figures in U.S. history, and he generally doesn’t sit well with minorities. But there’s one area where he has all other presidents beat. Here is the full story.
Heritage Check
News agency Reuters decided to stir the race-relations waters ahead of the 2024 United States presidential election. So, they took on a unique genealogy project.
Diving into the backgrounds of more than 100 prominent politicians, the study aimed to figure out just exactly where the so-called American elite came from.
Among the subjects of the study were 2 Supreme Court justices, 11 governors, and 100 members of Congress. The cherry on top was a deep dive into all five living presidents.
And when it comes to their family background, nearly all of those presidents have something in common. It’s not something any of them are likely to celebrate, either.
Slave Owning Pasts
According to the Reuters study, Jimmy Carter’s family owned slaves several generations ago.
It is hardly surprising given their deep-south roots and history of running plantations.
Ditto for the next president chronologically, Bill Clinton. His south-dwelling ancestors were also slave owners.
George W. Bush has slave owners in his family tree, too, even though the Bush line itself came through the North. The Texas thing is relatively recent.
Joe Biden may hail from northern states, but he can trace his lineage back to slave owners, too.
A Surprising Inclusion
Even Barack Obama, the first black president, has slave owners in his family tree. Reuters found that tidbit deep in the recess of his white mother’s roots.
That leaves just one living president without any history of slave ownership in his family. And it’s probably not the one anyone would have guessed.
By the time Friedrich Trump immigrated to the United States from Bavaria in the 1880s, the Civil War was 20 years in the rearview mirror. Slavery was gone with it.
And Trump landed in New York, which had been a free state for decades. Owning slaves wouldn’t have been an option, even if he wanted to.
Immigrant Ancestors
So, Donald Trump can thank the timing of his ancestors’ immigration to the United States for becoming the unlikely answer to a trivia question as the 2024 election looms.
As the only living president whose family never owned slaves, Trump can make a claim that at least his family didn’t directly contribute to the despicable practice.
But given his tendency to blow things out of proportion, it’s not too far-fetched to think we might see Trump making some ridiculous claims about his civil rights activism.
Bending the Truth?
Heck, his campaign is probably working on the spin right now, even as Trump and his Proud Boys try to fight their way out of prison sentences.
And, while further digging could turn up something unsavory in the Trump lineage from their days in Europe, Donald is almost certainly up for defending his name.
After all, Trump has shown just how willing he is to bend the truth when things don’t go his way.
The post Trump Alone Can Boast Ancestors Free of a Despicable Shame first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
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