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go through Brad Ryan In Washington, D.C.
in short:
(ABC – Australia) Donald Trump questioned Kamala Harris’ racial identity during his speech at the annual conference of black journalists in Chicago.
“I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she happened to be black,” Mr Trump said of Ms Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent.
What’s next?
Ms. Harris is about to speak at a black sisterhood event in Texas.
Donald Trump appeared at a gathering of black journalists and suggested that his election opponent, Kamala Harris, had changed her racial identity from Indian to black.
“I’ve known her for a long time — indirectly, not very directly — and she’s always had Indian ancestry, and she’s only promoting Indian ancestry,” Trump said during a question-and-answer session at the Chicago event.
“I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she happened to be black. Now she wants people to know she is black.
“So I don’t know. Is she Indian or is she black? I respect either one, but she’s obviously not because she’s always been Indian and then all of a sudden, she transforms and she becomes a black person.”
Harris, whose mother was born in India and father was born in Jamaica, is described by the White House as the first black and South Asian American to be elected vice president.
“My mother was very aware that she was raising two black daughters,” Ms. Harris wrote in her 2019 memoir. “She knew her adopted home would view Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to ensure we grew up to be confident, proud black women.”
Trump was speaking at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. His invitation to speak sparked controversy among the group’s members, with one co-chair resigning in protest.
He was hostile from the start. When a reporter listed some of his past comments about black people and asked why black Americans should support him, he called her question “very nasty” and slammed the event because of a problem with the sound equipment that delayed the start of the event.
He also suggested he had been “falsely invited” because he was told his opponent would be in attendance.
“That’s a very rude introduction. I don’t understand why you would do that,” he said, later adding: “I’ve been the best president for the black community since Abraham Lincoln – that’s my answer.”
Shortly after the event, the Harris campaign issued a statement that, while not directly addressing Trump’s comments about the vice president’s racial identity, said Trump’s “tirade is just one of the hallmarks of the ‘Make America Great Again’ rallies throughout Trump’s campaign, with chaos and division being just part of it.”
“Trump personally attacked and insulted Black journalists, as he has done throughout his presidency — all while he failed Black families and screwed the entire country.
“Donald Trump has proven he can’t unite America, so he’s trying to divide us.”
White House spokeswoman Karina Jean-Pierre said Trump’s comments were “insulting” and “disgusting.”
He has questioned the backgrounds of his black opponents in the past.
Over the years, he Promoting conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama’s nationalityIn 2012, it offered a $US5 million ($A7.6 million) reward for anyone who could determine whether Obama was born in the United States. (Obama’s birth certificate is publicly available and shows he was born in Hawaii.)
Ms Harris has been the target of racist and sexist attacks since winning broad Democratic support to become the party’s presidential candidate.
Some Republicans have called her a “DEI employee,” a common acronym in the U.S. for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Harris briefly addressed Trump’s comments Wednesday evening during a speech at a gathering of Sigma Gamma Rho, a historically black sorority in Houston, Texas.
“It’s the same old story,” she said, “full of division and disrespect.”
Harris added: “I would just say the American people deserve better.”
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