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Trump Claims Civil Rights Act Hurt Whites in NYT Interview

Did civil rights protections create reverse discrimination, or do they address ongoing systemic inequalities?
Trump Claims Civil Rights Act Hurt Whites in NYT Interview
Above: U.S. President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on January 11. Image credit: Samuel Corum/Stringer/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Civil rights protections created reverse discrimination against White Americans who excelled academically but were denied college admission and job opportunities. The Civil Rights Act accomplished some positive things, but also hurt deserving people through unfair race-based policies. Eliminating disparate impact liability and DEI programs restores constitutional equal treatment and merit-based standards.

Anti-Trump narrative

There's zero evidence White men faced discrimination from civil rights protections designed to address centuries of racial exclusion. Black Americans still lack equitable access to education, capital and voting rights even 60 years after the Civil Rights Act. Claims of reverse discrimination erase the ongoing struggle for justice and represent a dangerous attempt to rewrite history.


Public Figures


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO



© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0