Donald Trump has attacked Kamala Harris by questioning whether she is “Indian or Black,” leading to strong reactions from his Democratic opponent.
Trump falsely claimed that Harris had only recently emphasized her Black heritage. “I’ve known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, and 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 at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.
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Harris’ mother is originally from India, and her father is from Jamaica. Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black school, and was involved in Black student organizations and the Congressional Black Caucus.
When a journalist told Trump that Harris had always identified as Black, he replied, “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. And I think somebody should look into that too.”
Harris responded to Trump’s comments by saying, “The divisiveness and the disrespect, and let me just say, the American people deserve better.” She added, “We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength.”
Harris’ campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, criticized Trump, saying, “The hostility Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Trump’s comments “insulting,” saying, “No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. That is no one’s right.”
This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists.
It was the same old show.
Let me just say: The American people deserve better than Donald Trump’s divisiveness and disrespect.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 1, 2024
Trump has a history of attacking opponents based on race, including false claims about Barack Obama’s birthplace and attacking Nikki Haley’s eligibility for the presidency.
Harris has faced criticism since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, with some Republicans claiming she was chosen for her race. Trump also attacked Harris’ credentials, mentioning her initial failure of the bar exam, though she passed it on her second attempt.
Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, called Trump “a worse version of an already horrible person” and described his comments as “a distraction.”
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly called Trump’s remarks “the comments of a desperate, scared old man who is, over the last week especially, having his butt kicked by an experienced prosecutor.”
