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President Donald Trump believes the civil rights era led to white people being “very badly treated."
According to the New York Times, Trump suggested that civil rights protections that emerged in the 1960s, including the Civil Rights Act, had discriminated against white men.
“A lot of people were very badly treated,” Trump said Wednesday (January 7). “White people were very badly treated, where they did extremely well, and they were not invited to go into a university or college."
Trump acknowledged that civil rights laws “accomplished some very wonderful things,” but said they also “hurt a lot of people — people that deserve to go to a college or deserve to get a job were unable to get a job.”
"So it was a reverse discrimination,” Trump added.
This isn't the first time Trump has suggested that white people face "reverse discrimination." During his campaign and presidency, Trump has repeatedly criticized what he calls “woke” policies and claimed there is a “definite anti-white feeling in this country.” Trump has moved aggressively to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives since returning to office.
Last month, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas released a video urging white men who believe they were discriminated against to file complaints with the agency.
“Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex?” Lucas said in the video. “You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws.”
Lucas said the agency is focused on eliminating “all forms of race and sex discrimination,” including against white men, and pointed viewers to guidance on “DEI-related discrimination.” Her message was amplified by Vice President JD Vance and senior adviser Stephen Miller.
In a statement, Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said there is “no evidence that white men were discriminated against as a result of the civil rights movement” and emphasized that those policies were designed to address the country’s long history of racial exclusion.
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