Speaking to a panel of Black journalists, Trump claimed that Harris has always downplayed her Black identity till she entered the US presidential race. Harris, the first woman of Indian and Black heritage to become Vice President, has long identified as both Black and Asian.
As the US presidential elections draw near, public remarks made by the two presumptive candidates are becoming increasingly sharp in nature. Upping the ante on Wednesday, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump questioned US Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity as a Black woman in front of an audience of Black journalists.
Speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday, Trump claimed that Harris has always downplayed her Black identity. “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black, until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black,” said Trump.
Trump’s remarks came as he was trying to seek the support of the Black population as he aims for a return to the White House in the November elections. Harris, who is the first Black and Indian American person to become Vice President, has long self-identified as both Black and Indian, repeatedly citing her roots in Chennai, where her mother hailed from.
“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump said of Harris. “Is she Indian or is she Black? Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a Black person.”
‘Is she Indian or Black?’: Trump
Harris, 59, has attended Howard University, a historically Black institution, and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first sorority established for Black college women, as per the New York Times. She has also served as district attorney in San Francisco and went on to become the Attorney General in California.
“So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and became a Black person, and I think somebody should look into that too, when you ask and continue in a very hostile, nasty tone,” Trump said at the event.
Kamala Harris’ response to Trump’s remarks
At an event for Sigma Gamma Rho, a prominent Black sorority, Kamala Harris said Trump’s remarks showed “divisiveness and disrespect” and asserted that the American people “deserved better”. The invitation to Trump to attend the event triggered a backlash among some members of the NABJ and prompted a co-chair of the convention to step down in protest this week.
“It was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect and let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts,” said Harris at the event.
Culled from US Today