Trump's Initial Attempt to Shift Focus to Harris Backfires
The former president implied that Harris had only just recently "became" Black.
TroibNews 
Former President Donald Trump made his first major critique of the revamped Democratic ticket on Wednesday, participating in a controversial live interview at a convention of Black journalists in Chicago. The event quickly went awry for him as he made racially insensitive remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris, questioning her identity and qualifications.
When asked about Republicans who believe Harris, the first woman of Black and Asian ancestry to serve as vice president, was chosen for diversity reasons, Trump suggested Harris only recently “became” Black.
“She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said, causing audible gasps and murmurs from the audience, according to reporters. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago until she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.”
Despite a moderator, ABC News’ Rachel Scott, pointing out that Harris attended a historically Black college and has always identified as Black, Trump persisted with his point about her ancestry.
“She was Indian all the way and then all of the sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person,” Trump said.
These remarks were part of a tense Q&A session at the National Association of Black Journalists, highlighting the Trump campaign’s struggles to counter Harris’ momentum since President Joe Biden decided against seeking another term.
This interview was Trump’s primary effort to shift his campaign’s focus from defeating Biden to targeting a younger, more challenging opponent. It exposed the challenges the Republican nominee and his movement face in confronting a woman of color without resorting to misogynistic or racist comments. While Trump’s blunt assessment of Harris might resonate with his base, it could also weaken his appeal to swing voters as the election approaches.
Shortly after the event, Trump reinforced his controversial stance on mixed heritage identification by posting a video on his Truth Social account, showing Harris supposedly contradicting herself about her identity and calling her a “stone cold phony.”
Harris’ campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, responded in a statement, saying the former president’s remarks are “simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign.”
Trump’s comments about Harris’ mixed heritage received immediate condemnation from the White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, upon hearing Trump’s remarks, said, “As a person of color, as a Black woman in this position … what he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive, it’s insulting. No one has any right to tell someone how they identify.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a long-time critic of Trump, expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, “Nobody's helping the voters out here by talking about the substance of the issue we should be focusing on.” She criticized the GOP ticket’s cultural commentary, highlighting past remarks from Sen. JD Vance as examples of unhelpful distractions.
Trump’s exchange with Scott and other journalists on stage was contentious, with the GOP nominee complaining about technical issues, his inability to hear the questions, and Harris’ absence from the event. Despite an assassination attempt claim that suggested he had changed, Trump’s responses during the interview showed little deviation from his usual demeanor.
The interview, delayed and supposed to last an hour, ended after just 34 minutes. Moderator Kadia Goba of Semafor stated that this was at the request of Trump’s campaign, though by then, significant damage had already been done.
Reactions to Trump’s performance were swift and critical. Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, tweeted from his personal account, “Looking forward to the editorials calling for @realDonaldTrump to get out of the race following today’s performance.” Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump ally, also posted a critical comment, saying, “Whoever told him to do this interview should be fired.”
Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton, speaking on CNN after Trump’s appearance, warned, “You need to be careful with this crap. As far as every Black person in America is concerned, she is Black. … To question the vice president’s ethnicity — I can’t even say what I really want to say about this.”
Harris’ campaign, sensing the potential harm to Trump’s efforts to attract Black voters and independents, shared eight different clips from the interview, highlighting Trump’s controversial comments.
Trump continued to criticize Harris during the event, calling her Biden’s “border czar,” expressing his desire to pardon those involved in the January 6 insurrection, and arguing that Black voters should support Republicans primarily for economic reasons. However, his racial comments overshadowed these points.
Responding to Scott’s question about past racist comments, including questioning former President Barack Obama’s citizenship and telling congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from, Trump labeled ABC a “fake news network” and dismissed Scott’s question as “disgraceful,” further justifying why it had been asked.
This report was contributed to by Eugene Daniels and Anthony Adragna.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
When asked about Republicans who believe Harris, the first woman of Black and Asian ancestry to serve as vice president, was chosen for diversity reasons, Trump suggested Harris only recently “became” Black.
“She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said, causing audible gasps and murmurs from the audience, according to reporters. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago until she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.”
Despite a moderator, ABC News’ Rachel Scott, pointing out that Harris attended a historically Black college and has always identified as Black, Trump persisted with his point about her ancestry.
“She was Indian all the way and then all of the sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person,” Trump said.
These remarks were part of a tense Q&A session at the National Association of Black Journalists, highlighting the Trump campaign’s struggles to counter Harris’ momentum since President Joe Biden decided against seeking another term.
This interview was Trump’s primary effort to shift his campaign’s focus from defeating Biden to targeting a younger, more challenging opponent. It exposed the challenges the Republican nominee and his movement face in confronting a woman of color without resorting to misogynistic or racist comments. While Trump’s blunt assessment of Harris might resonate with his base, it could also weaken his appeal to swing voters as the election approaches.
Shortly after the event, Trump reinforced his controversial stance on mixed heritage identification by posting a video on his Truth Social account, showing Harris supposedly contradicting herself about her identity and calling her a “stone cold phony.”
Harris’ campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, responded in a statement, saying the former president’s remarks are “simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign.”
Trump’s comments about Harris’ mixed heritage received immediate condemnation from the White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, upon hearing Trump’s remarks, said, “As a person of color, as a Black woman in this position … what he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive, it’s insulting. No one has any right to tell someone how they identify.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a long-time critic of Trump, expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, “Nobody's helping the voters out here by talking about the substance of the issue we should be focusing on.” She criticized the GOP ticket’s cultural commentary, highlighting past remarks from Sen. JD Vance as examples of unhelpful distractions.
Trump’s exchange with Scott and other journalists on stage was contentious, with the GOP nominee complaining about technical issues, his inability to hear the questions, and Harris’ absence from the event. Despite an assassination attempt claim that suggested he had changed, Trump’s responses during the interview showed little deviation from his usual demeanor.
The interview, delayed and supposed to last an hour, ended after just 34 minutes. Moderator Kadia Goba of Semafor stated that this was at the request of Trump’s campaign, though by then, significant damage had already been done.
Reactions to Trump’s performance were swift and critical. Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, tweeted from his personal account, “Looking forward to the editorials calling for @realDonaldTrump to get out of the race following today’s performance.” Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump ally, also posted a critical comment, saying, “Whoever told him to do this interview should be fired.”
Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton, speaking on CNN after Trump’s appearance, warned, “You need to be careful with this crap. As far as every Black person in America is concerned, she is Black. … To question the vice president’s ethnicity — I can’t even say what I really want to say about this.”
Harris’ campaign, sensing the potential harm to Trump’s efforts to attract Black voters and independents, shared eight different clips from the interview, highlighting Trump’s controversial comments.
Trump continued to criticize Harris during the event, calling her Biden’s “border czar,” expressing his desire to pardon those involved in the January 6 insurrection, and arguing that Black voters should support Republicans primarily for economic reasons. However, his racial comments overshadowed these points.
Responding to Scott’s question about past racist comments, including questioning former President Barack Obama’s citizenship and telling congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from, Trump labeled ABC a “fake news network” and dismissed Scott’s question as “disgraceful,” further justifying why it had been asked.
This report was contributed to by Eugene Daniels and Anthony Adragna.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
