The London-based news agency Reuters recently conducted a genealogical survey of the US political elite, finding that at least 118 of the country’s most influential leaders have at least one slave-owning ancestor. Former President Barack Obama’s ancestors owned at least two slaves, according to the survey.
Of the living former presidents, one name stands out whose ancestors did not own any slaves – Donald Trump.
A recent investigation conducted by Reuters examined the ancestry of the top American elite – including its legislators and presidents – and their possible connection to the American side of the slave trade of the past.
The results of the survey showed that two Supreme Court justices, 11 governors, over 100 members of Congress and several presidents are direct descendants of slave owners.
Prominent members of both parties figure prominently. These include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and Democrats such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth. Even Barack Obama (D), is the descendant of a slave owner on his white mother’s side of the family.
The only living president whose ancestors did not own slaves is Donald Trump (R). While other presidents have deep roots in America, Trump’s ancestors immigrated to the US only after the abolition of slavery in 1865. Thus, none of his grandparents were born in the US, which can be seen as an explanation of this fact.
Donald Trump has a history of defending symbols of the Confederacy. For example, as president, he opposed the renaming of US military bases named after Confederate generals, although the Department of Defense was open to making changes.
He is also one of the presidents who has shown a strong commitment to African-American issues. During his time in office, unemployment among blacks reportedly dropped to record lows. He also increased funding for historically black colleges and universities and introduced several criminal justice reforms. However, an overwhelming majority of African-American voters ultimately chose to vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 elections.
At this stage, none of the respondents have commented on the survey.
According to Reuters, the US political elite's slave-owning ancestors include these living US presidents:
- Joe Biden (D) - A direct ancestor, five generations removed, owned one slave.
- Barack Obama (D) - A direct ancestor, six generations removed, owned two slaves.
- George Bush (R) - A direct ancestor, six generations removed, owned 25 slaves.
- Bill Clinton (D) - A direct ancestor, five generations removed, owned one slave.
- Jimmy Carter (D) - A direct ancestor, four generations removed, owned 54 slaves.
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A top-secret military operation to wiretap Kim Jong-un went wrong when American elite soldiers shot and killed a group of unarmed fishermen.
To cover their tracks, the soldiers punctured the victims’ lungs with knives so the bodies would sink to the ocean floor.
Navy SEALs from the US elite forces secretly entered North Korea in early 2019 to plant surveillance equipment targeting the country’s leader. But the mission ended in disaster when the soldiers were surprised by – and opened fire on civilian fishermen who were diving for shellfish, reveals the New York Times.
The top-secret mission was carried out by SEAL Team 6’s Red Squadron – the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. President Donald Trump personally approved the operation during his first term in office.
The mission was so sensitive that it required direct presidential approval. If the American soldiers had been captured on North Korean soil, it could have torpedoed ongoing nuclear weapons negotiations or led to a hostage crisis.
— I don’t know anything about it. I’d have to, I could look, but I know nothing about it. I’m hearing it now for the first time, Trump responded when confronted with the information on Friday.
Months of preparation
The New York Times bases its investigation on interviews with two dozen people, including government officials, members of the Trump administration, and current and former military personnel with insight into the operation.
The elite soldiers trained for months under extreme conditions in ice-cold water. The plan was to deploy from a nuclear-powered American submarine and then reach the North Korean coast in two silent smaller submarines.
A team of approximately eight soldiers would swim for hours through four-degree Celsius seawater wearing diving equipment and heated suits. Once at the coast, they would plant the surveillance equipment and then disappear unnoticed – without any support from overhead drones.
Everything went wrong on the beach
In February 2019, the mission got the green light. Trump was scheduled to meet Kim Jong-un in Vietnam later that month, and the intelligence information could be crucial for the negotiations.
But when the soldiers reached the North Korean shore, everything went wrong. A fishing boat unexpectedly appeared in the darkness. Without the ability to communicate with mission command, and fearing discovery, a group leader in the SEAL team opened fire. The others followed suit and all unarmed civilians aboard the boat were killed.
To cover their tracks, the soldiers dragged the bodies down into the water. With knives, they punctured the victims’ lungs so the bodies would sink to the bottom. The surveillance equipment was never planted and the mission was immediately aborted.
American spy satellites shortly thereafter registered increased military activity from North Korea in the area. However, it remains unclear whether North Korean authorities ever actually understood what had happened to the shellfish divers.
Trump met Kim in Hanoi, February 2019. Photo: White House
Congress was not informed
The summit between Trump and Kim was conducted as planned in Vietnam, but did not lead to any agreement. In May of the same year, North Korea resumed its missile tests.
The secret mission has never been publicly acknowledged before. According to experts the newspaper spoke with, the fact that Congress was not informed – either before or after the operation – may constitute a violation of federal law.
— The point is to ensure that Congress isn’t kept in the dark when major stuff is going on, argues Matthew Waxman, law professor at Columbia University and former security advisor under President George W. Bush.
— This is exactly the kind of thing that would normally be briefed to the committees and something the committees would expect to be told about.
Those involved were promoted
When Joe Biden succeeded Trump as president, the North Korea mission was reviewed again. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered an investigation led by a lieutenant general from the Army’s Inspector General’s office.
In 2021, leading members of Congress were informed about the investigation’s results, but this report remains classified.
Many of those involved in the failed mission have since been promoted, according to the newspaper’s sources.
The US is phasing out its military security support programs for European countries on the border with Russia. The decision is part of President Donald Trump’s stated strategy to make Europe take greater responsibility for its own defense.
Pentagon representatives informed European diplomats last week that the Americans will no longer finance programs that train and equip soldiers in several Eastern European countries.
The current program, known as “section 333”, has a global budget of over one billion dollars and the cuts are expected to eliminate military support worth hundreds of millions of dollars to countries on Russia’s border.
Between 2018 and 2022, 1.6 billion dollars from the program went to Europe. The main recipients have been the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Already approved funds remain until September 2026, but the Trump administration has not requested new appropriations.
“Europe must take more responsibility”
A White House official tells the Financial Times that the decision aligns with Trump’s ambitions to “reassess and redistribute” foreign aid.
— This action has been co-ordinated with European countries in line with the executive order and the president’s long-standing emphasis on ensuring Europe takes more responsibility for its own defense.
Under pressure from the Trump administration, Europe’s NATO countries also agreed in June to aim to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Several European governments were surprised by the announcement and are now trying to get more information from Washington, according to diplomats with insight into the discussions.
— If they are being brutal then it will have big implications, says one diplomat, adding that the military alliance will definitely be affected since parts of the funding are channeled through the alliance.
— It’s causing a lot of concern and uncertainty, states another diplomat.
Increased presence in Poland?
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is very upset about the announcement and describes the cuts as a “misguided move that sends exactly the wrong signal as we try to force Putin to the negotiating table and deter Russian aggression”.
The future of the Baltic Security Initiative, created in 2020 to strengthen NATO countries in the Baltic region, is also uncertain. The White House has not requested continued funding for the program in next year’s budget.
— The loss of US security assistance would be very tough for the Baltic states. The whole idea here is making them capable of defending themselves, argues retired Admiral Mark Montgomery at the think tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
While the administration reviews US troop deployments worldwide, Trump assured Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday that American troops will remain in Poland going forward.
— I am very pleased with the arrangement. We’ll put more there if they want, Trump said about the approximately 10,000 American soldiers stationed in Poland.
The US state of Florida is planning to remove vaccine requirements for attending school. Florida’s Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, argues that it is “slavery” to force parents to have their children injected.
In the United States, vaccines are required for children attending school, with requirements varying from state to state, but often including vaccines against diseases such as measles and polio. Ladapo said during a press conference on Wednesday that the state now plans to work toward removing all vaccine requirements for schoolchildren in Florida.
— Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery, he says according to NBC News.
The Surgeon General points out that parents should have the right to decide for themselves and that forcing vaccination is “immoral”.
— Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right.
“Absolutely frightening”
Other doctors and health experts, however, criticize Ladapo’s statement and argue that there will be a greater risk for children to become ill.
— The idea that children would be allowed to go to school unvaccinated is absolutely frightening, says Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is unclear when the vaccine requirements are planned to be abolished, but Ladapo says that Florida’s Department of Health will collaborate with the governor to implement the plan.
For the first time in 66 years, the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea gathered in Beijing.
The extensive military parade marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with over 100 new domestically produced weapons systems – including nuclear missiles, hypersonic weapons and unmanned vehicles.
China conducted its second-ever military parade on Wednesday to mark Victory Day – 80 years after the end of World War II. The massive display at Tiananmen Square in Beijing became a demonstration of power where Chinese President Xi Jinping received 26 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The parade, witnessed by 50,000 spectators and 10,000 participating soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army, Navy and Air Force, marked the first time in 66 years that the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea gathered in Beijing. The last time this occurred was in 1959, during perhaps the most tense period of the Cold War.
Dressed in a gray Mao suit, Xi Jinping spoke from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. He focused on China’s victory over “Japanese aggression” in what he called the “global anti-fascist war”, but chose not to mention the United States by name despite the country’s decisive role in the war’s final stages.
— Humanity is again faced with a choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games, Xi declared and continued:
— The Chinese people will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and join hands with the rest of the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
Photo: Kremlin/CC BY 4.0
Nuclear arsenal in focus
Al Jazeera correspondent Katrina Yu emphasized the historical significance of the speech from Beijing:
— It really is difficult to understate how much of this is a part of the national psyche, the psyche of the Communist Party that, in the previous 100 years, China was repressed, invaded and humiliated by foreign forces.
Over 100 types of domestically produced weapons rolled along Chang’an Avenue. Particular attention was given to the new nuclear-capable missiles. For the first time, submarine-based JL-3 missiles were also displayed, whose extended range theoretically allows the entire US mainland to be reached from the South China Sea without submarines needing to advance into the Pacific Ocean.
The new intercontinental ballistic missile DF-61 also made its debut. It is estimated to be over 20 meters long with a range exceeding 12,000 kilometers. Additionally, the DF-5C was presented, which may have a range over 20,000 kilometers, carry ten nuclear warheads and reach speeds over Mach 10.
The hypersonic missile YJ-21, called the “carrier killer”, was also presented. The weapon is said to be able to strike aircraft carriers at Mach 10 – ten times the speed of sound – at a distance of 2,000 kilometers.
Trump’s sarcastic reaction
US President Donald Trump reacted to the parade with a sarcastic post on Truth Social:
“The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and ‘blood’ that The United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader”, he wrote and continued:
“Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory… May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America”.
Photo: screenshot/Trump/Truth Social
The Kremlin later commented on Trump’s statement and briefly explained that “no one even had this in their thoughts”.
New warfare technology presented
During the parade, China showcased its investment in modern warfare technology. Unmanned surface vessels (USV), underwater drones and unmanned aerial vehicles were presented alongside the new LY-1 laser system for shooting down drones and missiles. According to China, the new HQ-29 air defense system can defend against hypersonic missiles – a claim that has yet to be verified.
“For Xi, the point is to reinforce the impression that the People’s Republic of China has arrived as a great power under his leadership. Another is the array of leaders at the parade, which suggests that the PRC cannot be isolated, and is unafraid of pressure and bullying, particularly from the United States”, comments Ian Chong, political scientist at the National University of Singapore.
Above the parade, the air force conducted flyovers with helicopters carrying banners with messages such as “Justice will prevail”, “Peace will prevail” and “The people will win”.
US deploys missile systems
China declared that all of the more than 100 weapon types displayed were domestically produced. Despite the Chinese economy slowing down, the country’s defense spending has increased by more than 7 percent for four consecutive years and now amounts to approximately 4.2 times Japan’s defense budget. The military balance in the region has thus shifted markedly and China is gaining increasingly greater military influence.
Unmanned watercraft on display. Photo: Xinhua
Parallel to this development, the US and Japan are conducting extensive military exercises together. The US Army will for the first time deploy its medium-range missile system Typhon in Japan during the Resolute Dragon 25 exercise taking place September 11-25. Typhon can launch both Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles from land.
In July, the US placed two new weapons systems at its base in Okinawa: the MADIS air defense system and the NMESIS robot system that can combat ships. Both systems will also be used on Ishigaki Island during the Japanese-American exercise and military activities in the region are expected to intensify in coming years.
Modi abstained
Military parades on Victory Day are a relatively new phenomenon under Xi Jinping’s era – the first was held in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary, and this year’s parade was thus only the second of its kind.
Despite friendly meetings with Xi Jinping and Putin during the SCO summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to leave China before the military parade.
According to analysts, this was partly to avoid offending Japan, but also to signal that New Delhi certainly has strategic alternatives to the US but simultaneously remains concerned about maintaining its Western partnerships and cooperation.
