MYTH: Trump is racist against Mexicans.

REALITY: This is most likely false. Most of the examples of Trump saying racist comments against Mexicans have been debunked. (Check below)

In addition, the media has intentionally excluded any time Trump has said something positive about Mexicans. Trump’s positive comments about Mexicans have been documented over 100 times by professor Alberto A. Martinez. (Check below). It’s hard to say Trump’s racist against Mexicans when he continues to praise Mexicans.

Also, Trump has a great relationship with Mexicos President Lopez Obrador. Lopez Obrador said, “The forecasts failed. We didn’t fight. We are friends, and we’re going to keep being friends.”

The combination of all these factors makes it extremely unlikely that Trump is racist against Mexicans.

DEBUNKED EXAMPLES OF TRUMP SAYING RACIST COMMENTS AGAINST MEXICANS

Trump saying all Mexicans are ‘rapists and criminals’ is the most commonly cited example of Trump being racist. The other most common example of Trump being racist against Mexicans is when he called Mexicans ‘animals’. The problem is that both of those examples have been repeatedly debunked.

Trump didn’t call all Mexicans rapists. This quote was both taken out of context and intentionally misrepresented. Professor Alberto A. Martinez debunked that Trump was referring to all Mexicans as rapists. He explained, “Compare such words with Trump’s words. Which is worse? Writers excerpted the phrase: ‘they’re rapists,’ as if it were about all Mexican unauthorized immigrants, or worse, about all Mexican immigrants, or even worst, about all Mexicans. But that’s not what he said. That’s not what he meant. It was just a remark about some of the criminals crossing the border. The trick for misrepresenting Trump’s words can be used against anyone.”

Later, when Trump clarified his statements, he confirmed his statements were about the high percentage of women and children who are raped by criminals when trying to cross the border.

Trump made a similar statement on Jan. 19, 2019, “One in three women is sexually assaulted on the dangerous journey north… Many loving mothers give their young daughters birth control pills for the long journey up to the United States because they know they may be raped or sexually accosted or assaulted.”

Trump’s statement seems to be confirmed by the director of the Latin American branch of the Coalition Against Trafficking International and a report from Doctors Without Borders. The director of the Latin American branch of the Coalition Against Trafficking International estimated that 60% of Latin American children “have been caught by the cartels and are being abused in child pornography or for drug trafficking” while trying to cross the border illegally. While a 2017 report from Doctors Without Borders found that 31.4 percent of women surveyed had been sexually abused during their journey over the border.

Even left-wing sources like Politifact debunked that Trump referred to Mexicans as rapists.

As for the other example, where Trump called Mexicans ‘animals’, this was also debunked by various sources. Trump was referring to the very violent gang, the MS-13. “You know I’m referring to the MS-13 gangs that are coming in. I was talking about the MS-13,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter.

Left-wing sources like Politico and Politifact debunked that Trump referred to Mexicans as animals.

TRUMP PRAISED MEXICANS OVER A HUNDRED TIMES

Alberto A. Martinez, a professor of history of science and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, compiled a list of 100 times Trump praised or complimented Mexicans.

Here’s what Martinez said, “Regardless, countless many people think that Trump is racist against Mexicans. I suggest that anyone who thinks that should count how many times Trump has praised Mexicans.”

Here is just one of the 100 examples— “I respect Mexico, first you have to understand: I love Mexico, I love the Mexican people, I love Mexico, I have tremendous relations with Mexico, tremendous relationships, frankly that’s very important to me, but I’m referring to people who cross this border, which is very porous…” (Donald Trump June 25, 2015)

Here’s another example— “Many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally. I am proud to say that I know many hard-working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me…and, just like our country, my organization is better for it. […] I have great respect for Mexico and love their people and their peoples’ great spirit.” (Donald Trump July 6, 2015)

Martinez is a Bernie-supporting liberal and a Puerto Rican, but that didn’t stop him from coming to Trump’s defense. “Time for a disclosure. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Spanish is my first language. I voted for Obama. I live in liberal Austin, Texas, where I work as a tenured professor of history. I’ve never voted for a Republican. My preferred candidate for U.S. president would be Elizabeth Warren. Since she is not running, my preferred candidate is Bernie Sanders,” said Martinez.

(See the full article here)

SOURCES

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Steinbuch , Y. (2018, November 30). Outrage after Mexico awards Jared Kushner its highest honor. New York Post . Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2018/11/30/outrage-after-mexico-awards-jared-kushner-its-highest-honor/amp/

Montes, J. (2020, July 8). Visit by Mexican leader highlights unlikely friendship with president Trump. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/visit-by-mexican-leader-highlights-unlikely-friendship-with-president-trump-11594160370

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Nelson , S. and Bowden, E. (2020, July 8). Mexican president praises Trump at White House Trade Deal Celebration. New York Post . Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2020/07/08/mexican-president-praises-trump-amid-white-house-visit/amp/

Bernal, R. (2020, June 29). Mexican president: Trump ‘has been more respectful’ toward Mexico. The Hill. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/latino/505031-mexican-president-trump-has-been-more-respectful-toward-mexico/amp/

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Fiske, W. (2016, August 8). Politifact – Tim Kaine falsely says Trump said ‘all Mexicans are rapists’. Politifact. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/aug/08/tim-kaine/tim-kaine-falsely-says-trump-said-all-mexicans-are/

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Martinez , A. A. (2020, July 4). Trump praised Mexicans a hundred times. New Standard Press. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from http://www.newstandardpress.com/mr-trump-praises-mexicans-again/

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