Trump's Comments Over Kamala Harris's Racial Identity Sparks Controversy
On Wednesday, Donald Trump implied at the largest annual gathering of black journalists in the country that his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, had previously downplayed her African American heritage.
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, Trump said.
So, I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump continued. I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, 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.
Harris has Indian and Jamaican heritage and has long identified herself as both black and Asian. She is the first black and Asian American to serve as Vice President.
Hours after Trump's comments, Harris told members of the black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho gathered in Houston that Trump's remarks were another reminder of what the last four years of the former president's administration were like.
The same old show, the divisiveness, and the disrespect. Let me just say, the American people deserve better, Harris said.
DEI Hire
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, aimed at increasing the representation of women and people of color in the workforce to address long-standing issues of inequality and discrimination. The term DEI hire is used to indicate that someone is unqualified and has been selected based on race or gender.
The interview at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago started with a tense atmosphere. American journalist Rachel Scott, who was one of the three black female hosts, listed a series of racist remarks made by Trump and asked why black voters should support him.
Trump responded by calling the question horrible, rude, and disgraceful, and referred to ABC as a fake news network.
Trump repeated a statement from the presidential debate in June, claiming that immigrants crossing the southern border of the United States would take away black jobs, a claim that has drawn criticism from some black leaders.
Trump also refused to reveal whether Harris is a DEI hire as some Republican colleagues have said, saying, I don't know.
When asked about his stance on granting police immunity after black woman Sonya Massey was killed at home by a deputy sheriff in Illinois, Trump admitted he didn't know much about the case - which caused some gasps from the crowd - and then added, In my opinion, it doesn't look good.