President Trump is known for throwing around insults, but his clashes with high-profile African-Americans this summer renewed focus on the language Trump uses to speak to and about black people.
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| President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Montana on Thursday. His summer was marked by tweeting insults about black Americans who criticize him and praise for black celebrities who back him. |
NPR examined Trump's Twitter feed between June 1 and Labor Day. It provided a snapshot of a president who directs venomous tirades at black public figures who bash him, while singling out black celebrities who support him for praise.
During those three months, Trump tweeted almost 900 times about everything from tariffs to North Korea.
Nearly 50 tweets were focused on a black person or black Americans in general, with 20 of those tweets negative in tone.
Athletes and critics
Trump started off his summer clashing with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles over NFL players protesting during the national anthem.
These protests have been mostly carried out by black players with a goal of bringing awareness to police brutality.
In a tweet in early June, he announced he was canceling the traditional celebration for the championship team at the White House because he claimed most players were not going to show up because they disagreed with his criticism of kneeling during the anthem.
Tweets About The NFL And The National Anthem
Opposition to the NFL protests has become a rallying cry for Trump with his base. Critics argue he has used the issue to stoke racial divisions.
In August, Trump tweeted that most of the protesting athletes can't even "define" what they are outraged about.
This was not the only time this summer that Trump seemed to question the intelligence of notable black Americans.
He repeatedly lashed out at U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a black Democrat from California, who has been highly critical of Trump and his policies.
On Twitter, Trump called Waters an "extraordinarily low IQ person," "crazy" and "unhinged."
In other tweets, Trump would also attack the intellect of former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, NBA superstar LeBron James and CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Trump fell out with Manigault Newman over the release of her book, Unhinged, in August, which painted a scathing portrait of his White House.
He railed against Manigault Newman over the course of several days on Twitter, even calling her a dog in one tweet.
"Deepest stereotypes about race"
In Presidential Tweet, Trump Says Former Aide Was 'A Loser' And 'Vicious'
POLITICS
In Presidential Tweet, Trump Says Former Aide Was 'A Loser' And 'Vicious'The dehumanizing language Trump used about Manigault Newman and other black celebrities cannot be disconnected from this country's history of racism and discrimination against black Americans, said Ian Haney Lopez, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
"The language connects up with some of the deepest stereotypes about race that suffuse our culture," Haney Lopez said. "All of this is really playing into this ugly sense that some people aren't really valuable as people. And again this is a set of ideas that run deeply in our society."
Haney Lopez is the author of the book Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class.
Facing questions about Trump's disparaging tweets, White House officials have defended the president's comments.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley says the tweeted insults have nothing to do with race.
"By now, everyone understands President Trump is a counter-puncher and will defend himself against countless, unfounded, ridiculous attacks," Gidley said in a statement.
Tweets About High-Profile African-American Critics
His go-to phrases for endorsing Republican candidates for midterm elections are "tough on crime" and "strong on crime" — he used the phrases more than 30 times this summer.
To draw a contrast, he typically calls Democrats "weak" on crime or the border.
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