Donald Trump falsely suggests Kamala Harris ‘turned Black’
Trump’s comments at a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago came when an interviewer asked him why Black voters should consider backing a candidate with his history of racist attacks on political rivals. Trump responded by questioning Harris’ heritage.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian 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. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” the former president said.
“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 went – she became a Black person,” he said. “I think somebody should look into that too.”
Trump’s comments are reminiscent of his similar attacks on Black political rivals in the past, including the years he spent pushing the false, racist “birther” conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Harris’ mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically Black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.
Trump's divisive remarks about Kamala Harris' heritage echo his previous involvement in the controversial "birther" politics, questioning the origins of former President Barack Obama.
Despite Trump's misunderstanding of Harris' background, her identity is rooted in her Indian and Jamaican heritage, and her significant achievements in American politics, including becoming the first female, Black, and Asian American vice president.
