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A recent report has shown that President Trump is the only living U.S. president whose ancestors had never owned slaves. Presidents like Biden and Obama have been named in this latest report.
“President Joe Biden and every living former U.S. president – except Donald Trump – are direct descendants of slaveholders.”
Reuters report on America’s Political Elite
This week, the Washington Times reported on an investigation made by Reuters into the “genealogies of America’s political elite.”
Slavery has been a big part of American history, including previous presidents who owned or were related to slave owners. The investigation took a look at previous presidents, who are still alive today and have discovered that they are direct descendants of slave owners.
The presidents listed in this report were Joe Biden, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and even Barack Obama.
According to the Reuters report, Obama’s descendants from his white mother’s side were connected to slavery. Reuters had reached out for Joe Biden’s comment, to which he did not respond.
Many previous presidents of the U.S. had actually relied on slaves to carry out work at the White House.
The White House Historical Association had reported that “at least nine” U.S presidents had slaves working in the White House. These presidents included Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Martin Van Buren. The hired-out slaves would either work as maids, gardeners, or stable workers, and would perform any other duties that needed to be carried out.
The report explained why President Trump’s ancestors were exempt because President Trump’s ancestors only arrived in the U.S. after slavery was abolished. President Trump’s mother was Scottish and married a German.
It wasn’t just presidents included in the report, but also important politicians like Mitch McConnell, Tom Cotton, and Jeanne Shaheen. Reuters also reported that at least 100 current members of Congress are related to slave owners.
Impressively, President Trump, who is currently leading in the polls, is the only living U.S. president that doesn’t have any ties to U.S. slavery.
