Among the 46 leaders who have held the presidency in the United States, researchers found that only Donald Trump did not have enslaved ancestors in his family tree. This conclusion comes from a broad genealogical review conducted by a government-linked agency and reported by Reuters.
The study examined the genealogies of more than 100 contemporary American officials and public figures, including presidents, governors, judges, and several members of Congress. The goal was to understand how ancestry and the legacies of past generations intersect with today’s political leadership in the United States.
Results showed that the lineage of every living U.S. president examined carried at least one ancestor who owned enslaved people. Notable examples cited in the report include Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, illustrating the complex personal histories that accompany national leadership in a country built on slavery and its lasting aftermath.
In contrast, the report notes that Donald Trump’s paternal line traces back to Germany and arrived in the United States well after the abolition of slavery in 1865. Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in Scotland in 1930, which situates his family history outside the earlier slaveholding lineage identified in the other presidents studied.
Earlier, statements from Russian officials and media coverage in outlets such as CNN touched on sensational claims about Trump in relation to Pentagon documents. Reuters also reported on related discussions and the broader context in which these claims appeared, emphasizing the need for careful verification of such assertions in public discourse.