A new US poll released on Tuesday found that almost half of respondents thought President Donald Trump was racist.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, which surveyed 1,020 voters, gauged public opinion of Mr Trump as he continues to deal with an immigration crisis on the US-Mexico border.
The poll showed that 49 per cent of respondents thought Mr Trump was racist, while 47 per cent said he was not.
It also showed that 55 per cent believed Mr Trump had made it easier for those with racist beliefs to share those views publicly.
On the border crisis specifically, 60 per cent said that separating children from their parents was a violation of human rights.
Assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll Tim Malloy said the poll spelt more bad news for Mr Trump.
"When it comes to the separation of immigrant kids from their parents, American voters are clearly appalled," he said.
Mr Trump has made an about-face to end the practice of separating migrant families but many children remain separated from their parents.
The president has previously denied being racist, telling a reporter in January he's the "least racist person you will ever interview".
And the poll comes a week after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the US' leading civil rights organisations, blamed Mr Trump's "xenophobic rhetoric and racist policies" for a rise in hate crimes.
"From campaign to election, this president has spewed the language of division and hate and it has manifested in not only racist policies but in racists acts against people of colour and other groups," NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said.
Quinnipiac University said the margin of error in the poll was +/- 3.7 per cent.
