Donald Trump on Civil Rights 2016 Republican incumbent President; 2000 Reform Primary Challenger for President

Sub-sections under Civil Rights:
• LGBT Rights
• Minority Rights
• Other issues under Civil Rights

I'll revoke executive order for Marxist equity and inclusion

Biden administration is waging war on free speech

No crackdown on China for repressing Falun Gong or Catholics

Trump had no problem with China's concentration camps: Bolton describes several instances where Trump waffles on China-related issues after conversations with Xi, notably on the mass concentration camps Beijing was using to imprison and 're-educate' Uyghur Muslims. Bolton writes that according to the US interpreter in the room during a conversation between Xi and Trump at the G-20 meeting in June 2019, Trump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which Trump thought was 'exactly the right thing to do.' Bolton adds that Trump didn't wan

DC won't become a state because they'd elect Democrats

DC license plates carry the slogan "Taxation Without Representation" in protest of the lack of seats in Congress. Residents have a non-voting delegate in the House and no senators. If it were a state, DC would have one House member and two senators. A "Taxation Without Representation" DC license plate adorned Barack Obama's limo during his presidency.

2017: removing Confederacy monuments destroys our heritage

Trump said there were "very fine people on both sides" and initially refused to condemn white supremacy. This abdication of moral leadership was one of the lowest points in his presidency.

The white supremacist rally occurred during a time that around the country, monuments to the confederacy [were being removed]. Trump opposed what was happening. "Sad to see the history & culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," he tweeted on Aug. 17. Trump had told his aides many times that summer, "This is a shame. They're destroying our heritage."

Respectfully check mosques; we have to look at profiling

TRUMP: Well, you do as they used to do in New York, prior to this mayor dismantling. Right now, they're doing it in France. In fact, in some instances, they are closing down mosques.

Q: Are you talking about increasing profiling of Muslims in America?

TRUMP: Well, I think profiling is something that we're going to have to start thinking about as a country. And other countries do it. You look at Israel and you look at others, and they do it. And they do it successfully. And I hate the concept of profiling. But we have to start using common sense, and we have to use our heads. Recently, we had tremendous numbers of people coming into a speech I was making. And people that obviously had no weapons, had no anything, they were going through screening--the same scrutiny as somebody else that looked like it could have been a possible person [of interest]. So, we really have to look at profiling.

Put the Confederate flag in a museum, not on statehouses

Q: Should states be allowed to display the Confederate flag on government property?
• Donald Trump's answer: No. "I think they should put it in the museum and let it go," Trump said of the flag during an appearance at his new golf course. "Respect whatever it is you have to respect, because it was a point in time, and put it in a museum. But I would take it down."
• Hillary Clinton's answer: No, it is a symbol of racism. "It shouldn't fly there. It shouldn't fly anywhere," Mrs. Clinton said of South Carolina, where a white gunman killed nine African-Americans last Wednesday during a Bible study session at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
• Gary Johnson's answer: Yes, each state should have the right to display any flag they choose.
• Bernie Sanders' answer: No.
• Jill Stein's answer: No, it is a symbol of racism.

Political correctness is country's problem, not my problem

TRUMP: Only Rosie O'Donnell!

Q: You once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?

TRUMP: I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. I don't have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either. This country is in big trouble. We don't win anymore. We lose to China. We lose to Mexico both in trade and at the border. We lose to everybody. And frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it's fun, it's kidding. We have a good time. What I say is what I say. But you know, we need strength, we need energy, we need quickness and we need brain in this country to turn it around.

AdWatch: Kamala is for they/them; Trump is for you

The ads focus on taxpayer-funded gender transitions for people in prison and immigrant detainees. They use Vice President Kamala Harris' comments from a 2019 [questionnaire] in which she said she supported transgender inmates having access to gender-affirming surgery.

"Kamala is for they/them," one ad says. "Trump is for you."

The Trump campaign is betting that with time dwindling until Nov. 5, the issue of transgender rights will sway voters more than the economy or immigration. Trump has underscored that on the campaign trail, often repeating a line about "keeping men out of women's sports"--it often gets the most applause at his rallies.

Blasphemy to promote transgender visibility on Easter Sunday

FactCheck (Wikipedia downloaded 4/5/202):International Transgender Day of Visibility (often referred to as TDOV) is an annual event occurring every March 31 since 2009. dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide. In 2024, TDOV coincided with the Christian holiday of Easter that year. President Biden's support of TDOV was condemned by some Christian Republicans, which transgender advocates say is manufactured.

Transgender protections destroying women's sports

Job discrimination rules don't apply to transgender status

By a vote of 6-3, the court said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, among other factors, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status.

The Trump administration had urged the court to rule that Title VII does not cover cases like these, in a reversal from the position the government took during the Obama administration. "The ordinary meaning of 'sex' is biologically male or female; it does not include sexual orientation," the Justice Department said. "An employer who discriminates against employees in same-sex relationships thus does not violate Title VII as long as it treats men in same-sex relationships the same as women in same-sex relationships."

Global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality--mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. "It is concerning that, in the 21st century, some 70 countries continue to have laws that criminalize LGBTI status or conduct," said a U.S. official involved in organizing the event.

Although the decriminalization strategy is still being hashed out, officials say it's likely to include working with global organizations like the United Nations and the European Union, as well as other countries whose laws already allow for gay rights.

1980s: personal lawyer gay & closeted & Trump kept secret

As Cohn's health deteriorated, his unethical behavior as a lawyer caught up to him. A host of luminaries rose to defend Cohn's good character, including Trump, returning to his friend's side and inviting him to visit Mar-a-Lago.

In 1986, Cohn was disbarred. He was fifty-nine. His friends held a memorial service for him. Trump attended, standing silently in the back.

2000: extend Civil Rights Act to apply to gays and lesbians

Although he had pulled out of the race, Trump's name remained on the Reform Party ballot in Michigan and California. He won both primaries.

Sexual orientation is invalid reason for firing workers

Should "gender identity" be added to anti-discrimination laws?
• Donald Trump's answer: Yes. Asked whether private companies should be able to fire employees simply because they're gay, Trump said on "Meet The Press" that he didn't think sexual orientation "should be a reason" for letting workers go.
• Hillary Clinton's answer: Yes. "We should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work," she says on her campaign website.
• Gary Johnson's answer: Yes. Johnson says that he doesn't believe there should be workplace discrimination against gays, referencing racial segregation and civil rights laws from the 1960s: "There has to be an awareness, and there has to be consequences to discrimination. And there should not be discrimination."
• Bernie Sanders' answer: Yes, and the government should do more to protect minorities from discrimination.
• Jill Stein's answer: Yes.

After Supreme Court vote, gay marriage is a reality

A: Some people have hopes of passing [Constitutional] amendments, but it's not going to happen. Congress can't pass simple things, let alone that. So anybody that's making that an issue is doing it for political reasons. The Supreme Court ruled on it [and hence only a Constitutional amendment can overrule that].

Same-sex marriage is a state issue

In a Bloomberg interview in January, the businessman asserted that he personally believes marriage is between a man and a woman. While he sees it as a state issue, Trump indicated that the Supreme Court could issue a ruling to determine the law.

No gay marriage; no same-sex partner benefits

Trump said "no," but didn't stop there. When asked whether gay couples should have access to "the same benefits as married couples," the mogul initially replied that his attitude on the issue was not yet "fully formed."

After thinking about it for a moment, however, Trump said: "As of this moment, I would say no and no" to gay marriage and civil benefits.

That answer may have resonated with Iowa conservatives who overwhelmingly opposed the Iowa Supreme Court's 2009 decision to overturn the state's gay marriage ban. But not in New York, home to one of the largest gay and lesbian communities in the US.

Trump was traveling Sunday and could not be reached for comment. Through a spokesman, he said only: "I'm opposed to gay marriage."

Tolerate diversity; prosecute hate crimes against gays

I am not a racist but BLM calling police pigs is wrong

BIDEN: Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we've had in modern history, he pours fuel on every single racist fire. Started off his campaign coming down the escalator saying he's getting rid of those Mexican rapists, he's banned Muslims because they're Muslims. About the Proud Boys, he said, "I tell them to stand down and stand ready." Come on, this guy has a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn.

Aside from Lincoln, no one has done more for Blacks

BIDEN: This is a guy who said, "The problem with the crime bill, there's not enough people in jail." This is a guy who in the Central Park Five, five innocent black kids, he continued to push for the death penalty. He commuted 20 people's sentences. We commuted over 1,000 sentences. The federal prison system was reduced by 38,000 people under our administration. I'm offering $20 billion to states to change their laws to eliminate minimum mandatories and set up drug courts. No one should be going to jail because they have a drug problem.

I denounce white supremacy; and I denounce ANTIFA

TRUMP: You always do this. I denounce white supremacy. Okay? I've denounced white supremacy, for years, but you always do it. You didn't ask Joe Biden, whether or not he denounces Antifa.

Q: This is a little bit of a dodge.

TRUMP: Are you listening? I denounce white supremacy. What's your next question?

Q: It feels sometimes you're hesitant to do so, like you wait a beat.

TRUMP: Hesitant? Here we go again. My people said, "I'm sure they'll ask you the white supremacy question." I denounce white supremacy. And frankly, you want to know something? I denounce ANTIFA, and I denounce these people on the left that are burning down our cities, that are run by Democrats who don't know what they're doing.

OpEd: incapable of seeing Floyd murder as un-American

FactCheck: Proud Boys standing by to deal with Antifa

Trump was asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace to disavow white supremacy. But Trump did not denounce any far-right group, pivoting to talk about Antifa, a left-wing organization.

One Proud Boys organizer posted "President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA... well sir! we're ready!!"

The Proud Boys, a self-described "Western chauvinist" organization, is considered a violent, nationalistic, and misogynistic hate group, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Proud Boys members marched at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and have organized against Black Lives Matter protests in recent months.

[Pres. Trump walked back his statement post-debate, and denounced the Proud Boys].

Proud Boys: stand back & stand by; against Antifa

TRUMP: Almost everything I see is from the left wing not from the right wing. Give me a name; who do you want me to condemn?

Q: White supremacist and right-wing militia.

BIDEN: Proud Boys.

TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right wing problem, this is a left wing.

BIDEN: He's own FBI Director said unlike white supremacists, Antifa is an idea, not an organization, not a militia--

TRUMP: Oh, you got to be kidding me. Well, then you know what, he's wrong. Antifa is bad. Antifa is a dangerous radical group.

Racial sensitivity training is racist: a radical revolution

TRUMP: I ended it because it's racist. I ended it because a lot of people were complaining that they were asked to do things that were absolutely insane. That it a radical revolution that was taking place in our military, in our schools, all over the place.

Q: What is radical about racial sensitivity training?

TRUMP: If you were a certain person, you had no status in life. It was sort of a reversal. And if you look at the people, we were paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach very bad ideas and frankly, very sick ideas. They were teaching people to hate our country And I'm not going to do that. We have to go back to the core values of this country. They were teaching people that our country is a horrible place. It's a racist place. And they were teaching people to hate our country. I'm not going to allow that to happen.

Agrees vibrant economy key to addressing racial tensions

TRUMP: That's right. We had the best African American employment numbers in history by far, not even close. We had the best Hispanic American, the best Asian American, the best numbers in history. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world and we had to close it because of the China virus.

Best employment & best homeownership for Black Americans

TRUMP: We have tremendous African American support. If you look at just prior to this horrible situation coming in from China, when the virus came in, that was the probably the highest point, home ownership for the black community, homeownership, lower crime, the best jobs they've ever had, highest income, the best employment numbers they've ever had. If you go back and you want to look over many years, go back six or seven months, that was the best single moment in the history of the African-American people in this country

Q: Your statement is though, make it great again. Are you aware of how tone deaf that comes off to the African American community? You have yet to acknowledge that there's been a race problem in America.

TRUMP: Well, I hope there's not a race problem. I can tell you, there's none with me, because I have great respect for all races, for everybody. This country is great because of it.

FactCheck: LBJ civil rights laws dwarf any Trump action

FactCheck: It's absurd to say Lincoln is a "possible" exception; emancipating the slaves was obviously more important for Black Americans than anything Trump has done. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, monumental bills whose impact dwarfed the impact of any legislation Trump has signed.

Treat Judaism as nationality, not just religion

Charlottesville: you had very fine people on both sides

"Not all those people were Neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. Many of those people were there to protect the statue of Robert E. Lee. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson after that?" Both had been slave owners he noted. "You really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?"

Skipped 2019 NAACP meeting, due to "format" disagreements

Trump often speaks about policies he says are helping African Americans, including low unemployment and sentencing reform. Several Democratic and one other Republican presidential candidate are slated to participate in an NAACP's forum on July 24, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. [The NAACP Convention voted to impeach Trump].

FactCheck: Yes, record number of women in Congress

NPR: Trump praised the record number of women in Congress, but that's almost entirely because of Democrats, not Trump's party."

Social media strategist Caleb Hull pointed out that Trump "never claimed his party was responsible" for the increase in women in Congress.

OnTheIssues FactCheck: So who's right? Here's what Trump actually said: "We have more women in the workforce than ever before--and exactly one century after the Congress passed the Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before." Trump never claimed credit for himself nor for the Republican Party for the record number of women in Congress. Fox News is correct; NPR is incorrect. Trustworthy fact-check sources, such as OnTheIssues, always refer back to the original speech!

More jobs for women; now we will help women outside US too

Sued in 1970s for racist rental policy, but same as everyone

TRUMP: As far as the lawsuit, yes, when I was very young, I went into my father's real estate company in Brooklyn and Queens, and we, along with many, many other companies throughout the country--it was a federal lawsuit--were sued. We settled the suit with no admission of guilt. I'll go one step further. In Palm Beach, Florida, a wealthy community, I opened a club, and really got great credit for it: no discrimination against African- Americans, against Muslims, against anybody.

Minorities in disaster cities: what do you have to lose?

1973: sued for racial bias against black tenants

Citing the experiences of Spiro and others, the Justice Department announced one of the most significant racial bias cases of the era: USA v. Fred Trump & Donald Trump. On Oct. 15, 1973, the Justice Department said the Trumps had violated the law "by refusing to rent and negotiate rentals with blacks, requiring different rental terms and conditions because of race, and misrepresenting that apartments were not available." Trump was livid, saying the charges were "absolutely ridiculous. We never have discriminated."

Pushed town council to allow blacks & Jews into Mar-a-Lago

Promoted gender equality in a male-dominated industry

That's the kind of "gender equality" we need. Leadership that inspires the best in people, male or female, not a wishy-washy former secretary of state who doesn't understand the lunacy of having her own private e-mail server.

I'm "fine" with affirmative action, for now

TRUMP: I'm fine with it, but we have it, it's there. But it's coming to a time when maybe we don't need it. That would be a wonderful thing. I don't think we need it so much anymore. It has served its place, and it served its time. Some people have loved it and some people don't like it at all. But I think there will be a time when you don't need it.

Well-educated blacks have advantage over whites

Donald displayed his inner Archie in 1989 when he told a TV interviewer, "a well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market. I've said, even about myself, if I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black because I believe they have an actual advantage." In the universe of "well-educated black" men, some HAD gained from affirmative action programs, but only the most superficial view of the landscape would lead someone to agree with Trump. On the same TV program, filmmaker Spike Lee called Trump's statement "garbage" because it reeked of racial ignorance. But it sounded like tell-it-like-it-is honesty to many.

OpEd: "bigotry" was more like racial insensitivity

I'm no misogynist; I put women in charge of construction

TRUMP: I've always had a great relationship to the women I work with. The relationship has been amazing in terms of thousands of employees, top-level employees. And, you know, I was one of the first people in the construction industry to put women in charge of major construction projects and my relationship has been great. I have many executives that are women and doing a phenomenal job. And I'm doing very well with the women voters. So I don't really worry about those false accusations.

Disinvited from RedState gathering for misogynistic comments

Top presidential candidates took the stage this weekend at the RedState Gathering in Atlanta to discuss the future of the Republican party. Each candidate and speaker utilized their position to advance their vision for the future of the county and garner support from the public.
• "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever." -- Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, on Fox News host Megyn Kelly's performance as moderator for Thursday's GOP debate in Cleveland
• "I don't want Donald Trump in the room with my daughter tonight so that's why he was disinvited." -- Erick Erickson, RedState Gathering organizer, after disinviting Donald Trump to the event. Trump was originally scheduled to speak at the RedState Tailgate near the College Football Hall of Fame

Obama's presidency has done nothing for African Americans

TRUMP: Well, I think he's been a very poor president. We have $18 trillion right now in debt and going up rapidly. We don't have victories anymore. China is killing us on trade. Mexico's killing us at the border and also killing us on trade.

Q: I understand your critique, but why we won't see another black president for generations?

TRUMP: Because I think that he has set a very poor standard and it's a shame for the African American people. He really has done nothing for African Americans. You look at what's gone on with their income levels, and with their youth. They have problems now in terms of unemployment numbers. We have a black president who's done very poorly for the African Americans of this country.

Created first club in Palm Beach open to blacks & Jews

Ultimately, the town council of Palm Beach approved Mar-a-Lago for use as a private club. They fought me every inch of the way. But right won out.

One of the principal reason that I had such strong support from the people within Palm Beach was that, unlike the other clubs in town, Mar-a-Lago would be open to all races, colors and creeds. Paul Rampell really pushed this point. The Bath and Tennis Club and the Everglades Club had no Jewish or black members.

Mar-a-Lago would be open to all, and this appealed to a large group of supporters. It also sparked a tremendous fight by those who wanted to preserve the existing system, a system that, in this day and age, seems archaic.

Women are far stronger than men; don't believe "weaker sex"

Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression "the weaker sex" was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye--or perhaps another body part. I have seen some of the roughest, toughest guys on earth, and yet they're afraid of their 120 pound girlfriends or wives.