CHICAGO: Donald Trump falsely suggested that Kamala Harris misled voters about her race when the former president addressed the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on Wednesday in an interview that quickly turned hostile.
The former Republican president falsely claimed that Harris, the first black and Asian-American woman to serve as vice president, had only promoted her Native American heritage in the past.
“I didn't know she was black until she came out a few years ago and now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know if she's Indian or black?” Trump said this while speaking at the group's annual convention.
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the United States. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation's most prominent historically black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a US senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, supporting her colleagues' voting rights and police reform legislation.
Trump has been widely critical of Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the likely Democratic ticket last week. Throughout his political career, the former president has repeatedly questioned the backgrounds of opponents who are racial minorities.
Michael Tyler, director of communications for Harris' campaign, said in a statement that “the hostility that Donald Trump displayed on stage today is the same hostility that he has displayed throughout his life, throughout his tenure and throughout his presidential campaign as he seeks to regain power.”
“Trump has lobbied for personal attacks and insults against black journalists just as he has throughout his presidency — while he has failed black families and left the entire country digging itself out of the ditch he left us in,” Tyler said. . “Donald Trump has already proven that he cannot unite America, so he is trying to divide us.
White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre was asked about Trump's remarks during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, and she responded with disbelief, first muttering, “Wow.”
Jean-Pierre, who is black, called Trump's words “disgusting” and said: “It's offensive and no one has the right to tell someone who they are, how they identify themselves.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked his opponents and critics along racial lines. He gained notoriety in Republican politics by spreading false theories that President Barack Obama, the nation'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 questioning the credentials and qualifications of black politicians.
He rejected accusations of racism. And after Biden selected Harris as his running mate four years ago, a Trump campaign spokesman pointed to Trump's previous political donation to Harris as evidence that he was not racist.
“The president, as a private businessman, donated to candidates across all aisles,” spokeswoman Katrina Pearson told reporters. “And I will point out that Kamala Harris is a black woman and he donated to her campaign, so I hope now we can break down that racism argument,” Pearson said.
During the Republican primary this year, he once referred to former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as “Nimbray.”
Trump's appearance on Wednesday at the annual gathering of black journalists immediately turned heated, with the former president sparring with ABC News interviewer Rachel Scott and accusing her of being “very rude” with a harsh first question about his past criticism of black people. and black journalists, his attack on the black prosecutors who brought cases against him, and the dinner he hosted at his Florida club with a white supremacist.
“I think it's shameful,” Trump said. “I came here in a good mood. I like the black population of this country. I have done so much for the black population of this country.'
Trump continued his attacks on Scott's ABC News network, which he claimed should not carry the next presidential debate, despite his earlier agreement with the Biden campaign. He also repeatedly described her tone and questions as “nasty,” a word he has used in the past to describe women including Hillary Clinton and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The Republican also repeated his false claim that immigrants in the country illegally are “taking black jobs.” When pushed by Scott about what constitutes a “black job,” Trump responded by saying that “a black job is anybody who has a job,” drawing groans from the room.
He once said, “I was the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln.”
The audience responded with a mixture of roars and applause.
Scott asked Trump about his promise to pardon people convicted of taking part in the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and specifically whether he would pardon those who attacked police officers.
Trump said, “Oh, I would for sure,” and said, “If they're innocent, I would pardon them.”
Scott pointed out that they were convicted and therefore not innocent.
“Well, they were sentenced by a very, very harsh system,” he said.
At one point, as he defended his supporters who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, he said, “Nothing in life is perfect.”
He compared the 2021 uprising to protests in Minneapolis and other cities in 2020 following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, and to the recent protests at the Capitol last week by demonstrators opposing the war on Gaza. Trump falsely claimed that no one had been arrested in those demonstrations and that only his supporters were targeted.
When Trump made the comparison, a man in the back of the room shouted, “Sir, have you no shame?”
The former president's invitation to address the organization sparked an intense internal debate at NABJ that spilled onto the Internet. Organizations of journalists of color routinely invite presidential candidates to speak at their summer meetings during election years.
In his campaign for the White House for a third term, Trump has sought to look beyond his traditional base of support, and his campaign has touted his efforts to try to win over black Americans, who have been the Democrats' most loyal voting bloc.
His campaign emphasized his messages on the economy and immigration as part of his appeal, but some of his outreach efforts played on racial stereotypes, including the assumption that African-Americans would empathize with the criminal charges he faced and his promotion branded sneakers.
Trump and the NABJ also have a strained history over his treatment of black female journalists. In 2018, the NABJ condemned Trump for repeatedly using words like “stupid,” “losers” and “nasty” to describe black female journalists.
The vice president is not scheduled to appear at the convention, but NABJ said in a statement released on X that it was in talks with her company to have her appear either virtually or in person for the conversation in September.
Trump wrote on his social network that he was told that he could not host the event virtually.
“She refused and I'm getting ready to land in Chicago to be there,” Trump wrote. “Now I'm told she's hosting an event on ZOOM. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”
Trump held a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, later Wednesday, during which he repeatedly mispronounced Harris' name.
Before he took the stage, Trump's team flashed what appeared to be news headlines from years ago describing Harris as the “first Indian-American senator” on the arena's big screen.
