Fact check: True.
Conservative political commentator Candace Owens, who has found increased fame due to being in the spotlight with Kanye West over their thoughts on the black community, believes declining race relations in America are the result of one person.
Barack Obama.
When asked who she would point the finger at for the racial divide in America, Owens said, “It’s been so black and white, the conversation, and I blame [Barack] Obama.”
“His eight years in office did a lot of damage in terms of race relations in this country,” she added.
.@RealCandaceO: “I blame Obama, his 8 years in office did a lot of damage in terms of race relations in this country and… Hillary didn’t help much when she kept calling everybody racist and sexist.” pic.twitter.com/itYBfLwL9c
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 6, 2018
And she couldn’t be more right.
The morning after Election Day, 2008, The New York Times proclaimed that Obama’s victory had swept “away the last racial barrier in American politics.”
Eight years later, the barrier that had been swept away was rebuilt and reinforced. Obama and the Democrats governed as if any criticism of his policies or platforms was racist. They used the race card at every turn, in every case.
The former President once said the police “acted stupidly” in the case of Henry Louis Gates, an African-American arrested in his own home after reports of a possible break-in, despite not having all of the facts.
He famously took sides in the Trayvon Martin case, declaring stating that “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” Again, this despite having no facts on the case.
Obama even governed with race in mind, his signature health care legislation containing race-based incentives that even the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights decried.
While he focused singularly on race, Obama painted every person who opposed him as the actual racist. A compliant media helped push the narrative and eventually lead to a racial divide in this country, specifically attributable to the former President.
White people make up over 63% of America. If this country was fundamentally racist, Obama could NOT have served two terms.
The suggestion that “racism” is why @realDonaldTrump won wreaks of stupidity; it’s an assessment made by those who struggle to think critically. https://t.co/tjJrJexzjo— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 6, 2018
A poll one month prior to the 2016 election showed a majority of Americans believed race relations had worsened under Obama. 54% said the divide had grown worse, while a very low 16% said it had gotten better.
By contrast, in May of 2009, mere months into Obama’s first term, 32% of all Americans believed race relations had improved, while only 6% said they had gotten worse.
That is a massive 64-point turnaround.
Owens is right, Obama did a lot of damage to race relations in this nation. The facts bear this out.
Do you agree with Owens? Is Obama to blame for worsening race relations in America? Share your thoughts below!
