Mitch McConnell says he and Obama are 'both are the descendants of slave owners' after report showed his family owned slaves

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Mitch McConnell says he and Obama are 'both are the descendants of slave owners' after report showed his family owned slaves

Mitch McConnell

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell leaves the chamber after talking about his bill on Tuesday.

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  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded to an NBC News report that his great-grandparents owned slaves by saying that both he and former President Barack Obama owned slaves and opposed reparations.
  • "You know, I find myself in the same position as President Obama," he told reporters, according to Daily Wire editor Ashe Schow. "We both oppose reparations and we both are the descendants of slave owners."
  • Two of McConnell's great-grandfathers, James McConnell and Richard Daley, owned at least 14 slaves in Alabama in the 1800s, according to an NBC News records review.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded to an NBC News report that his great-grandparents owned slaved by saying that both he and former President Barack Obama owned slaves and opposed reparations for the descendants of slaves.

"You know, I find myself in the same position as President Obama," he told reporters, according to Daily Wire editor Ashe Schow. "We both oppose reparations and we both are the descendants of slave owners."

Two of McConnell's great-grandfathers, James McConnell and Richard Daley, owned at least 14 slaves in Alabama in the 1800s, according to an NBC News records review.

While Obama was running for president in 2007, amateur genealogist William Reitwiesner found evidence that Obama's ancestors on his mother's side of the family owned slaves, The Guardian reported at the time.

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