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Donald Trump speaks at an event in Washington, DC on June 24, 2023.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Donald Trump is reportedly the only living US president whose ancestors did not own slaves.
That’s because Trump’s ancestors came to America after slavery had already been abolished.
Even Barack Obama is descended from slave owners, through his white mother’s side of the family.
Every person currently living who has served as president of the United States is descended from ancestors who owned slaves – except Donald Trump.
That is according to a new research from Reuters examining the ancestral histories of American legislators and presidents. In addition to presidents, the study found that two Supreme Court justices, 11 governors and 100 members of Congress are the direct descendants of slave owners.
Among them are prominent members of both parties, including Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrats such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth.
Even Barack Obama – the country’s first black president – is the descendant of a slave owner on his white mother’s side of the family.
According to Reutersthe slave-holding ancestors of living U.S. presidents include:
Joe Biden – One direct ancestor, five generations away, owned one slave
Barack Obama – One ancestor of the president, six generations away, owned two slaves
George Bush – One ancestor of the director, six generations away, owned 25 slaves
Bill Clinton – One ancestor of the director, five generations away, owned one slave
Jimmy Carter – One of the director’s ancestors, four generations away, owned 54 slaves
But Trump stands out among the bunch.
While other presidents have deep ancestral roots in America, Trump’s ancestors did not emigrate to the United States until after slavery was abolished in 1865.
In fact, none of his grandparents were born in the United States. Trump’s paternal grandparents were born in Kallstadt, a small town in southwest Germany, and immigrated to the US in the early 1900s. His mother Mary, meanwhile, was born in Scotland.
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Despite this, Trump has one long history of defending symbols of the Confederacy — as president, he opposed renaming U.S. military bases named after Confederate generals, despite the Defense Department being open to making changes.
He also once infamously stated that there were “very fine people on both sides” of a clash between white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Read the original article Business Insider
