By CLAIRE GALOFARO and BILL BARROW
Associated Press

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - Americans are engaged in a heated national debate on race, and President Donald Trump's provocations are often at the heart of the discussion.

In interviews with The Associated Press across a half-dozen states, voters see a country divided by racial animus. They say race relations are better than a generation ago, but worse than before Trump's presidency.

Opinions break down largely along ideological lines. The debate has been fanned by Trump's use of white identity politics and inflamed by white supremacist violence like last weekend's shooting in El Paso, Texas.

Scott Bremner is a talk-radio host in Pennsylvania. He has often found himself refereeing race issues on the air. He tried to establish whether his listeners could agree on what racism is. He realized that the answer was no.

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