Donald Trump lies a lot. You already know that but I like saying it, so I’ll say it again… Donald Trump Lies a lot.
One of the many lies the man tells is a bogus claim that he has done more for African Americans than any other president since Abraham Lincoln. You would remember that it was Lincoln who freed the slaves and gave them ‘equal rights’ under the law. But Trump is claiming that what he has done for black people is apparently in the same category as Lincoln freeing the slaves. In addition to many tweets proclaiming this lie, Trump has also made this claim in campaign speeches.
“My administration is delivering for African Americans like never before. No President has done more for our black community.” Trump said in a campaign speech in March.
But what do historians have to say about this claim?
David Garrow, Pulitzer-prize winning historian on the civil rights movement: “I believe no question that virtually all U.S. historians would rank LBJ #1 among presidents on ‘who’s done the most for the Black community’” since the start of the 20th century.
H.W. Brands, a historian at the University of Texas at Austin: “President Trump has made many outlandish claims, and this is squarely in that category. LBJ’s Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act rank right next to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.”