CHICAGO: Donald Trump falsely insinuated Wednesday that Kamala Harris had misled voters about her race, when the former president appeared before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago in an interview that quickly devolved into a hostile one.
The former Republican president falsely claimed that Harris, the first Black and Asian-American woman to serve as vice president, had previously only promoted her Indian heritage.
“I didn't know she was black until a few years ago, when she became black and now she wants to be known as black. So, I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?” Trump said during his speech at the group's annual convention.
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both of whom immigrated to the United States. During her college years, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation’s top historically black colleges and universities, where she also served as a member of the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. senator, Harris served as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, championing her colleagues’ legislation to strengthen voting rights and reform the police.
Trump has leveled a wide array of criticisms at 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 racially minority.
Michael Tyler, communications director for Harris' campaign, said in a statement that “the hostility Donald Trump displayed on stage today is the same hostility he has demonstrated throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power.”
“Trump has been making personal attacks and insults toward Black journalists the same way he has throughout his presidency, while failing Black families and leaving the entire country to dig itself out of the hole he left us in,” Tyler said. “Donald Trump has already proven he can’t unite America, so he seeks to divide us.
Asked during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre responded with incredulity, initially muttering, “Wow.”
Jean-Pierre, who is black, called Trump's remarks “repugnant” and added: “It's an insult and no one has the right to tell someone who they are and how they identify.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked his opponents and critics on the basis of race. He rose to prominence in Republican politics by propagating false theories that President Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, was not born in the United States. “Birtherism,” as it became known, was just the beginning of Trump’s history of questioning the credentials and qualifications of black politicians.
She denied the racism allegations. And after Biden chose Harris as his running mate four years ago, a Trump campaign spokesperson later pointed to a previous political donation from Trump to Harris as evidence that she was not racist.
“The president, as a private entrepreneur, has donated to candidates across the political spectrum,” spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told reporters. “And I will point out that Kamala Harris is a black woman and he has donated to her campaign, so I hope we can now put this racism argument to rest,” Pierson said.
During this year's Republican primary, he once referred to former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as “Nimbra.”
Trump’s appearance Wednesday at the annual gathering of black journalists quickly got heated, with the former president lashing out at 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 filed lawsuits against him, and a dinner he had at his Florida club with a white supremacist.
“I think it's shameful,” Trump said. “I came here in a positive spirit. I love the black people of this country. I've done so much for the black people of this country.”
Trump continued his attacks on Scott's network, ABC News, which he argued should not host the next presidential debate, despite its previous deal with the Biden campaign. He also repeatedly described his tone and questions as “nasty,” a term he has used in the past to describe women, including Hillary Clinton and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
The Republican also repeated his false claim that illegal immigrants in the country are “stealing black jobs.” When Scott asked what constituted a “black job,” Trump responded by saying that “a black job is anyone who has a job,” prompting groans in the room.
At one point, he said, “I have been the best president for the Negro people since Abraham Lincoln.”
The audience responded with a mixture of boos and some applause.
Scott asked Trump about his commitment to pardoning those convicted of their roles in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, and specifically whether he would pardon those who assaulted police officers.
Trump said, “Oh, absolutely, I would,” and added, “If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”
Scott stressed that they were convicted and therefore are not innocent.
“Well, they were convicted by a very, very harsh system,” he said.
At one point, while defending his supporters who entered the Capitol on January 6, he said, “Nothing in life is perfect.”
He compared the 2021 uprising to the 2020 protests in Minneapolis and other cities following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and to the more recent protests at the Capitol last week by protesters against the war in Gaza. Trump falsely claimed that no one was arrested in those other demonstrations and that only his supporters were targeted.
As Trump made the comparison, a man in the back of the room shouted, “Sir, have you no shame?”
The former president’s invitation to speak at the organization sparked intense internal debate among NABJ members that spilled online. Organizations for journalists of color typically invite presidential candidates to speak at their summer gatherings in election years.
In his third campaign for the White House, Trump has sought to appear outside his traditional bastions of support, and his campaign has touted his efforts to win over African Americans, who represent the Democrats’ most engaged voting bloc.
His campaign emphasized messages about the economy and immigration as part of his appeal, but part of his effort played on racial stereotypes, including suggesting that African Americans would empathize with the criminal charges he faced and his promotion of branded sneakers.
Trump and the NABJ also have a tense history over their treatment of black women journalists. In 2018, the NABJ condemned Trump for repeatedly using words like “stupid,” “losers,” and “evil” to describe black women journalists.
The vice president is not expected to attend the convention, but NABJ said in a statement published on X that it was in discussions with her campaign to have her appear virtually or in person for a meeting in September.
Trump posted on his social media that he was told he would not be able to attend the event virtually.
“He refused and I am getting ready to land in Chicago to be there,” Trump wrote. “Now I'm told he is holding the event on ZOOM. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”
On Wednesday night, Trump held a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during which he repeatedly mispronounced Harris's name.
Before taking the stage, Trump's team displayed on the big screen in the arena what appeared to be years-old newspaper headlines, describing Harris as the “first Indian-American senator.”
