Trump, Biden and race: A history
On Sept. 5, 1989, Donald Trump and Joe Biden appeared on nationally televised broadcasts that aired less than an hour apart, both making statements that were revealing about the legacies they were creating on issues of race. Biden that night criticized then-President George H.W. Bush for being too soft on crime, and Trump told NBC News that “well-educated” Blacks have an “advantage” in business.
Now, 31 years later, their handling of race will converge in a bigger way: during a presidential campaign in which the issue of race is more central than at any point since 1968. As the largest civil unrest in U.S. history plays out, more Americans than at any point since 1968 say race relations is the most important problem facing the country. That has Biden and President Trump refocusing their campaigns on the issue of race in ways that at times intersect with their pasts.
This week provided a new chapter: Biden, as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, named someone who once attacked his record on race to be his running mate. Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) is the first woman of color to be in that position for a major party. Two days later, Trump gave oxygen to a conspiracy theory about Harris’s eligibility.
How did they get here? The Fix drew upon hours of archival footage and interviews with Post reporters to analyze how the histories of the two men vying for the presidency will shape the 2020 campaign and could shape the next presidency.
