Is she black or Indian?’: Trump questions Harris’ racial identity
Former President Donald Trump ignited controversy on Wednesday during a heated exchange at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, where he questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity.
Trump falsely claimed that Harris, who is the first Black and Asian-American vice president, had only recently begun to emphasize her Black 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 during the event. “So I don’t know—Is she Indian? Or is she Black?”
Harris, whose mother was Indian and father was Jamaican, has consistently identified with both her Indian and Black heritage. She attended Howard University, a historically Black university, and joined the predominantly Black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. After entering the Senate in 2017, she became a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Harris condemned what she described as a divisive tactic. “The American people deserve better,” she said while speaking at a meeting of the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho in Houston. “We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us—they are an essential source of our strength.”
Trump’s comments sparked a contentious exchange with ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, one of the moderators at the Chicago event. Trump doubled down on his claims, saying, “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 became a Black person.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the former president’s remarks, stating, “No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. That is no one’s right.” Representative Ritchie Torres of New York also criticized Trump, asking, “Who appointed Donald Trump the arbiter of Blackness?” He went on to describe Trump as a “relic of a racist past.”
This is not the first time Trump has made racially charged comments about his political opponents. During his presidency, he falsely accused Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, of not being born in the United States. He also attacked former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, a Republican primary opponent, by falsely claiming she was ineligible to run for president because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born.
Since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice president, Harris has faced a series of attacks from Republicans, who have criticized her selection, suggesting it was based solely on her race. Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett referred to her as a “DEI vice-president,” referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
During the NABJ event, Scott pressed Trump on whether he believed Harris was a “DEI hire.” Trump responded, “I really don’t know, could be.”
Throughout her career, Harris has openly discussed her multicultural upbringing, stating that she was raised with strong influences from both her Indian and Black heritages. She noted that her mother ensured she was deeply engaged with Black culture in Oakland, California, where she grew up.
In addition to questioning her racial identity, Trump also attacked Harris’ credentials during the discussion, claiming she had failed her bar exam early in her legal career. His comments were met with murmurs from the audience. “I’m just giving you the facts. She didn’t pass her bar exam, and she didn’t think she would pass it, and she didn’t think she was going to ever pass it, and I don’t know what happened. Maybe she passed it,” he said.
Harris graduated from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1989. According to The New York Times, she failed the bar exam on her first attempt but passed on her second try. The California State Bar notes that less than half of those who take the exam pass on their first attempt.
The exchange between Trump and Scott began with the journalist asking the former president about his past criticisms of Black people. She cited examples of him calling Black journalists’ questions “stupid and racist” and hosting a white supremacist for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump dismissed the criticism, saying, “I love the Black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country.”
Hours later, Trump took to his social media platform to criticize the event, writing, “The questions were rude and nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!”