HomeAmericasPoliticsTrump Claims Kamala Pivoted From Being Indian And “Became Black”

Trump Claims Kamala Pivoted From Being Indian And “Became Black”

Trump Claims Kamala Pivoted From Being Indian And “Became Black”

Trump Claims Kamala Pivoted From Being Indian And “Became Black”

CHICAGO, IL (REUTERS) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump falsely suggested to the country’s largest annual gathering of Black journalists on July 31, that his Democratic rival Kamala Harris had previously downplayed her Black heritage.

“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black, until several years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump said, drawing a smattering of jeers from an audience of about 1,000 people.

“So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump continued. “But you know what, 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.”

Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, has long self-identified as both Black and Asian. She is the first Black person and Asian American person to serve as vice president.

Hours after Trump’s comments, Harris told members of the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho gathered in Houston that his remarks were “yet another reminder” of what the four years under the former president looked like.

“It was the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect,” Harris said. “The American people deserve better.”

Since launching her White House campaign earlier this month, Harris has faced a barrage of sexist and racist attacks online, with some far-right accounts questioning her racial identity. Republican Party leaders have urged lawmakers to refrain from personal attacks and focus on her policy positions.

Trump himself has used personal insults against Harris and said he was going to ignore advice that he tone down his rhetoric. “I’m not going to be nice!” he told supporters at a campaign rally.

The interview at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago started on a tense note, when ABC News reporter Rachel Scott – one of three Black women moderators – listed a series of racist comments Trump had made and asked why Black voters should support him.

In response, Trump called the question “horrible,” “hostile” and a “disgrace” and described ABC as a “fake” network.

“I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln,” he boasted, drawing groans from the audience.

Trump repeated a line from the presidential debate in June, claiming that migrants crossing the U.S. southern border would take away “Black jobs,” a term that drew criticism from some Black leaders.

“What exactly is a ‘Black job,’ sir?” Scott asked him.

“A Black job is anybody with a job,” Trump replied.

Trump also declined to say whether Harris was a “DEI hire,” as some fellow Republicans have claimed, saying, “I don’t know.”

DEI stands for “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives aimed at increasing representation of women and people of color in the workforce to address longstanding inequities and discrimination. The term “DEI hire” is used to suggest a person is not qualified and was chosen based on race or gender.

When asked about his position on granting police officers immunity following the death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who was killed in her own home by a sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, Trump acknowledged he didn’t know much about the case – drawing some gasps from the crowd – before adding that “it didn’t look good to me.”

The interview began more than an hour late, which the Trump campaign said was due to problems with the event’s audio equipment. Both Trump and the moderators were sometimes unable to hear each other during the interview.

The session, originally scheduled for an hour, ended abruptly after about 35 minutes when the campaign said he was out of time, according to the moderators.

At a rally in Pennsylvania later July 31, Trump did not mention his comments about Harris’ racial identity, but the arena’s screens showed old news articles highlighting her Indian American background, and not her Black heritage, before he took the stage.

Trump blamed Harris for a surge in immigration during the Biden administration and claimed she would ban fracking, playing a video that showed her endorsing such a ban during her failed presidential bid in 2019. Her campaign recently said she would not ban fracking if she won the White House.

COURTING BLACK VOTERS

Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, said Trump’s questioning of Harris’ racial background was “not a wise move.”

“There are plenty of policy issues he can go after her on without going after her identity,” he said.

In the 2020 census, 33.8 million Americans self-identified as multiracial, up from nine million in 2010.

The invitation to Trump to attend the event triggered a backlash among some members of the NABJ and prompted a co-chair of the convention to step down in protest this week.

During the interview, some of Trump’s false statements were met with murmurs and laughter from the crowd. At one point, someone yelled out, “Sir, have you no shame?” before others shushed him.

Trump’s appearance was part of a broader effort to court Black voters, including campaign events in cities with large Black populations such as Atlanta, where he will rally on Saturday.

His campaign was encouraged by polls showing weakened support among Black men for President Joe Biden, his former opponent. Black voters are traditionally the most loyal Democratic voting bloc and supported Biden 92%-8% over Trump in 2020, according to Pew Research.

But Biden’s decision to step down in favor of Harris has shaken up the race, with public opinion polls showing newfound enthusiasm for her candidacy among voters of color and younger voters.

A national Reuters/Ipsos poll released on July 30 showed Harris leading Trump 43%-42%, within the poll’s margin of error.

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  • We Indians should not even be debating that she is BLACK. She is Indian Jamaican. Not African, for whom the term BLACK refers to.

    She claims her ancestry in India when it suits her.

    She claimed BLACk to go to BLACK colleges and to claim BLACK benefits.

    And so did Obama. Who is equally white and brought up in a white household with zero Blacks.

    August 1, 2024
    • Perfectly said!!

      August 1, 2024
      • A Reuters article, you know the bias even before reading it…..

        August 3, 2024
    • Can someone not have both heritages? Many are children of mixed marriages now – can they be proud to say we have this AND that heritage? Her Father is Jamaican and mother is Indian? She must pick one? She must not be proud of both heritages? She was brought up a Hindu from her mother’s side and Christian from her Father’s side and is now married to a Jewish person
      This is the new world that we live in where we celebrate all of our heritage from different countries, different religions
      What is wrong with that?
      They say “Driving while Black” – you think Obama or his Father does not get stopped because they live in a white household? What?
      You think She and her Father, mother did not face discrimination in this country for her skin color?
      BTW Jamaicans are black – they fall under the black category

      August 4, 2024
  • She has long embraced her Black and South Asian identity. Look it up! In a 2012 interview hosted by digital news organization The Wrap, Harris, then California Attorney General, referred to herself as both African American and Asian American. , “When we think about women holding elected office and what is the significance of it, it’s not because we are trying to makes these milestones in terms of the ‘first of’, and, you know, in fact when I was first elected district attorney of San Francisco, I was the first woman elected, first African American woman elected, and Asian American elected in the state as a district attorney…”
    She was raised in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Berkeley, California, because her savvy mother believed that her daughters would eventually be recognized as Black women and wanted them to be surrounded by strong role models.
    The opposition sees her popularity and find ways to criticize her.
    The people who are attacking her are themselves opportunistic and changing tune. JD Vance who called Trump Hitler !

    August 1, 2024
  • It interests every Indian that Kamala Harris, who has Indian heritage, might become the Next US President. Already, she is facing increasing attacks on her heritage! Apparently it is ok to have European white heritage but having Indian blood is a concern!

    But more importantly I contrast these attacks with how Sonia Gandhi was treated in India when She ran for election. Not once was she attacked for not being born in India. She was born in Italy, not India & this one factor alone would have made her ineligible to contest elections here in the US, as one has to be born in this country to contest elections for the highest office. Barack Obama, for years, faced questions on the country of his birth.

    Back to Sonia, her heritage is pure Italian. But it did not matter one bit to Indians! She was also a Catholic! But again never faced attacks against her religion. We can be sure that as days goes by, Kamala Harris’s Hindu faith will be open to attack – as if it is a crime to be not Christian!

    What does it say about the respective faiths, countries & people? The Hindu faith asks us to see human beings for who they are, their character, conduct, their ACTIONS matter, not their belief nor religion. For Hindus see God as our Father – God Sri Rama is our Father & Mother Sita is well, our Mother. What Father is concerned about belief, support? Any parent would be concerned about what we did in life, our morals, values! Have we made them Proud?
    But all a Dictator is concerned about is belief, support & hence we clearly see the difference between faiths

    Vanamali Thotapalli

    Chicago, IL

    August 2, 2024

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