There are political dog whistles. Then there are moments when the whistle disappears, and the trumpets arrive loudly for the whole world to hear. During a call-in interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, President Donald Trump blamed recent attacks in the United States on what he described as the “genetics” of certain immigrants, specifically referencing people from Muslim-majority countries.

Trump said:

“They’re sick people… a lot of them were let in here. They shouldn’t have been let in. Others are just bad. They go bad… there’s something wrong there. The genetics are not exactly your genetics.”

The remarks immediately triggered alarm among historians, scientists and civil rights advocates who say that framing violence as a matter of genetic inferiority echoes discredited racial pseudoscience.

The problem with “genetics”

Scientists abandoned the idea that criminality or violence can be explained by racial genetics decades ago. Modern research shows that behavior is shaped by complex social, psychological and environmental factors, not ethnic DNA.

Yet Trump has repeatedly returned to the language of “good genes” and “bad genes” when discussing people he admires and people he distrusts. In recent months alone, the president has praised the “good genes” of military families and athletes while suggesting that criminals and immigrants may carry “bad genes.”

Experts say that framing human behavior through heredity has a dark political history. Throughout the early twentieth century, the theory of eugenics, the belief that societies could be improved through selective breeding and racial hierarchy, was used to justify immigration restrictions, forced sterilizations and racial segregation. Modern science has thoroughly debunked those ideas.

Trump’s long fixation with “good genes”

Trump’s language about genetics has appeared repeatedly throughout his political career.

In 2024, while running for president, he suggested that immigrants who commit crimes may do so because of “bad genes.” In other speeches he praised the “good genes” of supporters, soldiers and public figures he admires.

Even in pop culture debates, Trump has leaned on the same language. Last year, he celebrated an American Eagle campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, praising the ad’s “great genes” messaging while attacking brands he described as driven by “woke ideology.”

When a political leader repeatedly frames social problems in genetic terms, it taps into a long tradition of racial hierarchy theories that modern science rejects.

The backlash online

Clips of the Fox News interview spread rapidly across social media, where commentators accused Trump of crossing a dangerous line.

Many critics argued that blaming violence on the “genetics” of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants, echoes arguments historically used to justify discrimination and exclusion.

Others pointed out the contradiction in Trump’s framing of violence. The suspects involved in several recent high-profile attacks inside the United States have come from a wide range of backgrounds, including American-born citizens. Yet Trump continues to return to immigration and ethnicity as explanations.

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