Donald Trump’s Comments Reveal Lingering Eugenics in American Discourse.
Former President Donald Trump has sparked conversations about honesty through his controversial remarks. His statements often expose the racism and pseudoscientific ideas rooted in eugenics, which continue to affect American society.
In a recent appearance on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, Trump claimed that “murderers” inherit criminal behavior. “We got a lot of bad genes in our country right now,” he added while criticizing immigrants, who are frequent targets of his rhetoric.
This perspective aligns closely with the discredited eugenics movement of the early 20th century, which wrongly suggested that traits like criminality and poverty were genetic. Many scientists supported eugenics, and it influenced publications such as Scientific American. This so-called “science of breeding better men” led to harmful practices, including the forced sterilization of women and the justification for the Nazi genocide during World War II.
Despite eugenics being discredited, its language persists in popular culture. Terms like “moron,” “idiot,” and “imbecile” remain embedded in everyday speech. Racial classifications also endure, perpetuating divisions among people based on unfounded genetic distinctions.
The legacy of eugenics can be seen in contemporary political discourse, particularly in Trump’s claims that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the nation. Such statements corrupt medical terminology and reflect a broader trend where opponents are labeled as “low IQ,” a term that has deep roots in racism. Similarly, Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, suggested that women without children hold less value, echoing outdated notions of “criminal heredity” that once stigmatized women unable to bear children.
Eugenics played a significant role in shaping U.S. immigration laws, notably the 1924 Immigration Act, which discriminated against certain racial groups and aimed to keep out Jewish immigrants before World War II. The 1927 Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell further legalized reproductive control based on eugenic theories.
During the early 20th century, eugenics was widely accepted in scientific circles. Publications like the Journal of Heredity, originally named American Breeders Magazine, propagated these ideas. The New England Journal of Medicine only ceased publishing eugenic research in 1948, promoting immigration restrictions aimed at protecting “racial integrity” and blocking “tainted stock” from entering the country.
Eugenics-thinking still influences some aspects of popular culture today. Trump’s call for immigrants from Norway and derogatory remarks about Haitian immigrants reflect a longing for a past era steeped in racial discrimination. This nostalgia aligns with the “Make America Great Again” movement, which often invokes fears of demographic change, framing immigrants as threats to white voters.
The troubling aspect of eugenics is its continued appeal. Despite being discredited, these ideas resonate with segments of the population, allowing Trump and his allies to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about immigrants. In his derogatory remarks about immigrants as murderers with “bad genes,” Trump draws on this dark legacy.
Beth Shapiro, a paleobiologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and president of the American Genetic Association, criticized Trump’s comments, calling them “eugenics.” She voiced her rejection of this rhetoric on social media, emphasizing that society can and should be better.
As the debate continues, there is hope that society can move beyond these outdated ideas and embrace a more inclusive perspective.
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