49% Of U.S Voters Believe Donald Trump Is Racist In Major New Poll

Nearly half of all U.S voters believe the President of the United States is a racist, according to the latest poll by Quinnipeac University.

From June 27 – July 1, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,020 voters nationwide as to their sentiments regarding President Donald Trump’s beliefs and policies.

When asked, “Do you think President Trump is racist, or don’t you think so?,” 49 percent of respondents answered “Yes,” while 47 percent answered in the negative. 

The president’s moral character was initially called into question with a controversial comment made by the candidate regarding immigration, ”When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” he said back in 2015. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

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Earlier this year, Trump also asked citizens “Why are we having all these people from s—thole countries come here?,” referencing Haiti and certain African nations.

Many supporters have praised the president for his unapologetically direct statements, but 55 percent of voters say they come to a fault, agreeing that Trump has emboldened people who hold racist beliefs to express those beliefs publicly. 

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The year of Trump’s election, the number of hate crimes rose for the first time in over a decade, with the trend continuing into 2017. The most notable occurring during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last year where a woman was killed. At the time, Trump had received backlash for his response to the incident, claiming the violence came “on many sides” rather than blaming any one particular group. 

Recently, the president’s beliefs have once again garnered national attention in the wake of his zero-tolerance immigration policy. The policy received critical backlash as it had the effect of separating families in the process. Forty-four percent of respondents claim the motive for Trump’s immigration policies is “racist beliefs.” 

There has been a larger consensus on the separation policy itself. “When it comes to the separation of immigrant kids from their parents, American voters are clearly appalled,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll. Sixty percent of respondents agreed the separation of families was a violation of human rights, and 83% said the Trump administration has a responsibility to reunite the separated families.

As of now, the administration has not announced any definite plans concerning the reunification of those separated at the border.