Topline
Former President Donald Trump questioned whether Vice President Kamala Harris is actually Black in a combative appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, and blamed her for allowing immigrants to take what he referred to as “Black jobs.”
Trump repeatedly engaged in combative dialogue with the moderators throughout the session at the … [+]
Key Facts
Trump said Harris, whose father is from Jamaica and whose mother is from South India, “was always of Indian heritage” but “made a turn and . . . became a Black person.”
The former president made the comment when asked by ABC moderator Rachel Scott during a question-and-answer session if he believes Harris became vice president, and subsequently the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, only because she is a Black woman, as some Republicans have suggested.
Trump claimed Harris identified more so with her Indian heritage earlier in her career, then “a number of years ago . . . happened to turn Black,” questioning “is she Indian or is she Black?”
Trump also claimed that Harris, who was appointed to handle immigration issues by President Joe Biden, allowed undocumented immigrants to take what he referred to as “Black jobs,” which he explained was “anybody with a job” when Scott questioned what the term meant.
Trump, mispronouncing Harris’ first name, said “Kamala is allowing it to happen, she’s the border czar,” repeating a term that has been used by some media and more recently, those on the right, to describe Harris’ immigration role, even though she wasn’t in charge of border issues, and instead was appointed to work with Central American governments to tamp down on migration to the souther border.
Chief Critic
“What he just said what you just read out to me is repulsive. It is insulting. No one has any right to tell someone how they identify,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in response to Trump’s comments about Harris’ ethnicity.
Key Background
Trump repeatedly engaged in combative dialogue with the moderators throughout the session, which began with Scott asking Trump why Black voters should trust him given his history of racist rhetoric, including questioning whether former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Barack Obama were born in the U.S., and his association with white supremacists, including Nick Fuentes, who he dined with at Mar-a-Lago in 2022. Trump responded by telling Scott “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” then accused ABC News of being a “fake news, terrible network” and claimed he was the “best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”
Isabel Togoh contributed reporting to this story.
2022 midterms, 2024 presidential campaign, the January 6 House committee investigation, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster, the 2023 State of the Union Address, former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference and classified documents cases and his Manhattan hush money case. Dorn graduated in 2012 from the University of Dayton with a degree in journalism. Prior to joining Forbes, she covered New York City and state politics for the New York Post and City and State magazine. Follow her for updates and analysis on the 2024 presidential race, key Senate and House races and developments in Congress and at the White House.
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