CHICAGO — Donald Trump erroneously claimed Kamala Harris deceived voters about her race during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on Wednesday, which rapidly turned confrontational.
The Republican former president falsely claimed that Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as Vice President, had previously solely highlighted her Indian origin.
“I didn’t realise she was Black until a few years back, when she happened to turn Black and now wants to be known as such. So, I’m not sure, is she Indian or Black?” Trump said this when speaking at the group’s annual convention.
Donald Trump Falsely Suggests Kamala Harris Misled Voters About Her Race
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother who both immigrated to the United States. Harris was an undergraduate at Howard University, one of the nation’s most notable historically Black schools and universities, when she pledged the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a senator in the United States, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which advocated for legislation to improve voting rights and police reform.
Trump has slammed Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee last week. Throughout his political career, the former president has consistently questioned the backgrounds of racial minority candidates.
Michael Tyler, Harris’ campaign’s communications director, said in a statement that “the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, his term in office, and his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power.”
“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency — while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in,” Tyler told the crowd. “Donald Trump has already demonstrated that he cannot unify America, so he seeks to divide us.
When asked about Trump’s statements during a news briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed disbelief and said, “Wow.”
Jean-Pierre, a Black man, termed Trump’s remarks “repulsive” and said, “It’s insulting, and no one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify.”
Trump has routinely targeted his opponents and detractors based on race. He rose to notoriety in Republican politics by spreading false information that President Barack Obama, the country’s first black president, was not born in the United States. “Birtherism,” as it came to be known, was only the beginning of Trump’s history of doubting Black politicians’ credentials and qualifications.
He has disputed claims of racism. And, after Biden chose Harris as his running mate four years ago, a Trump campaign official used a previous Trump political contribution to Harris as proof that he was not racist.
“The president, as a private businessman, donated to candidates from all sides,” spokesperson Katrina Pierson told reporters. “And I’ll note that Kamala Harris is a Black woman and he donated to her campaign, so I hope we can squash this racism argument now,” Pierson told the crowd.
During this year’s Republican campaign, he once referred to former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as “Nimbra.”
Later Wednesday, Trump did not repeat his critique of Harris’ race at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, despite calling her “phoney” and claiming she has been attempting to modify her image. He also regularly mispronounces her first name.
“If she becomes your president, our country is finished,” Trump claimed.
Before he entered the stage, Trump’s crew showed what appeared to be years-old news stories proclaiming Harris as the “first Indian-American senator” on the arena’s large screen.
Trump’s appearance Wednesday at the annual gathering of Black journalists quickly became heated, with the former president sparring with ABC News interviewer Rachel Scott, accusing her of giving him a “very rude introduction” with a tough first question about his past criticism of Black people and Black journalists, his attack on Black prosecutors who have pursued cases against him, and the dinner he had with a white supremacist at his Florida club.
“I think it’s disgraceful,” Trump stated. “I arrived here with a nice spirit. I adore the Black population in our country. I’ve done so much for the Black population in this country.”
Despite his earlier agreement with the Biden campaign, Trump continued to criticise Scott’s network, ABC News, suggesting that it should not hold the next presidential debate. He also branded her tone and questioning as “nasty,” a phrase he has previously used to criticize women such as Hillary Clinton and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex.
The Republican also repeated his bogus accusation that undocumented immigrants are “taking Black jobs.” When pressed by Scott on what constitutes a “Black job,” Trump said, “A Black job is anybody that has a job,” eliciting gasps from the audience.
He once claimed, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”
The audience replied with a combination of boos and applause.
Scott questioned Trump about his promise to pardon people convicted of their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol, including whether he would pardon those who assaulted police officers.
“Oh, absolutely, I would,” Trump responded, “If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”
Scott pointed out that they had been convicted and thus were not innocent.
“Well, they were convicted by a very, very tough system,” he informed me.
Defending his followers who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, he added, “Nothing is perfect in life.”
He contrasted the 2021 uprising to protests in Minneapolis and other places in 2020 following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, as well as more recent rallies at the Capitol last week by people opposed to the war in Gaza. Trump erroneously claimed that no one was arrested during the previous demonstrations and that only his followers were targeted.
As Trump made the connection, a man in the back of the room exclaimed, “Sir, do you have no shame?”
The previous president’s offer to address the organisation caused a heated internal disagreement among NABJ members, which erupted online. During election years, organizations for journalists of color frequently ask presidential candidates to speak at their summer events.
As he campaigns for the presidency for the third time, Trump has pushed to appear outside of his typical support base, and his campaign has emphasized his efforts to win over Black Americans, who have historically been Democrats’ most loyal voting demographic.
Donald Trump Falsely Suggests Kamala Harris Misled Voters About Her Race
His campaign has emphasised economic and immigration messaging as part of his appeal, but some of his outreach has relied on racial stereotypes, such as the notion that African Americans would sympathise with the criminal accusations he has faced and his sale of branded trainers.
Trump and the National Association of Black Journalists have also had a contentious relationship regarding his treatment of Black female journalists. In 2018, the National Association of Black Journalists slammed Trump for regularly referring to Black women journalists as “stupid,” “losers,” and “nasty.”
The vice president is not slated to attend the convention, but NABJ said in a statement posted on X that it was in discussions with her campaign about having her speak online or in person for a chat in September.
Harris responded briefly to Trump’s remarks Wednesday night while speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho, a historically Black sorority in Houston.
“It was the same old show,” she explained. “The divisiveness and the disrespect.”
Harris went further: “And let me just say, the American people deserve better.”
SOURCE | AP
