Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump faced a press conference on Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) when he was asked about his likely rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. In response, he brought up Harris’ ethnic origin, alleging that she was of Indian origin but started claiming herself black, insinuating that she did a code switch to woo African-American voters.
“[Kamala Harris] was always of Indian heritage…I didn’t know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black,” Trump said.
“So is she Indian, or is she black? But you know, I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t. She was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden she made a turn, and she was a black person. I think somebody should look into that.”
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Harris was also supposed to attend the NABJ meeting in Chicago, but she did not show up. NABJ said she was in talks with her team to make an appearance in September.
Meanwhile, the White House reacted to Trump’s comments on Harris’ race calling it “repulsive.” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about it during the day’s press briefing when responded with disbelief, initially murmuring, “Wow,” AP reported.
Jean-Pierre called what Trump said at a meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago “repulsive” and said, “It’s insulting, and no one has any right to tell someone who they are how they identify.”
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“That is no one’s right. It is someone’s own decision,” said Jean-Pierre, who said she was speaking “as a person of color, as a Black woman who is in this position, that is standing before you at this podium behind this lectern” in the White House briefing room.
“Only she can speak to her experience. Only she can speak to what it’s like,” Jean-Pierre said of Harris. “And I think it’s insulting for anybody — it doesn’t matter if it’s a former leader or former president, it is insulting.”
Earlier on Tuesday, a Bloomberg poll showed that Harris was ahead of Trump in five of the seven swing states by a margin of 1%. She was riding on a wave of young, black and Hispanic voters, the poll said.
