The White House slammed Donald Trump on Wednesday for his comments on Kamala Harris‘ race, saying his allegation she ‘became a black person’ was ‘repulsive.’
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre led the response from President Joe Biden‘s administration. Jean-Pierre, a black woman, said Trump’s comment was ‘insulting.’ She also said, as vice president, Harris deserves ‘respect.’
‘No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify,’ Jean-Pierre said.
Trump, in a confrontational, testy interview at the National Association of Black Journalist conference, repeatedly questioned Harris’ racial origins. His comments resulted in gasps from the audience of black reporters and push back from the journalists on stage questioning him.
‘She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to put some respect on her name,’ Karine Jean-Pierre said
Trump started off the interview with a jab at Harris, his Democratic rival: ‘She was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went, she became a Black person. I think somebody should look into that.’
Harris’ mother is South Indian and her father is from Jamacia. The vice president has always identified as both South Asian and black.
‘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,’ Trump said, a day after Harris attended a rally in Atlanta with prominent black lawmakers and cheering supporters.
‘And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?’ he said of Harris, who is the first Black, female, and South-Asian-heritage vice president in US history.
During Jean-Pierre’s press briefing, NBC’s Peter Alexander read aloud Trump’s words and asked the press secretary for her reaction.
‘Wow,’ Jean-Pierre said.
She shook her head as Alexander read Trump’s words.
‘What you just read out to me, is repulsive, is insulting,’ Jean-Pierre said.
She went on to add: ‘It’s insulting for anybody – it doesn’t matter if it’s a foreign leader or former president – it is insulting.’
‘She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to put some respect on her name.’
Donald Trump clashed with ABC’s Rachel Scott during his interview at the National Association of Black Journalists
Harris’ campaign condemned his remarks.
‘The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president,’ said campaign communications director Michael Tyler.
‘Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign.’
Trump was in a fiery mood when he sat down with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner, and Semafor reporter Kadia Goba.
The interview started almost an hour late for conflicting reasons.
There were reports the former president was unhappy with the NABJ for fact checking his comments in real time. Trump claimed it was because the conference organizers had audio equipment problems.
His comments during the interview sparked fury among black reporters.
Karen Attiah, a co-chair of this year’s NABJ convention who resigned after Trump’s appearance was announced, wrote on X during his interview: ‘Oh my God. Oh my god.’
‘I am so angry right now. N.A.B.J., this was a colossal mistake,’ she added later.
April Ryan, a prominent black journalist who covers the White House and tangled with Trump when he was president, wrote: ‘Trump came into our home, a Black Press advocacy convention, and insulted us in our face. What is worse he was invited to do this by NABJ leadership. Shame!’
Trump was also unhappy with reports Harris would be allowed to address the group virtually.
Originally both contenders were invited to appear in person. When Harris’ team said she could only do it virtually, organizers said no.
But when black journalists attending the conference expressed their outrage that Trump would address them but Harris – who would be the first female black president if elected – would not, Harris was invited to do so via zoom.
Trump reacted in fury to the news, noting he was told he had to fly to Chicago.
‘They told me and Crazy Kamala Harris that you could not do this Event with ZOOM — It is not allowed or acceptable! She declined, and I am getting ready to land in Chicago in order to be there. Now I am told that she is doing the Event on ZOOM. WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
Kamala Harris campaigning in Atlanta on Tuesday
Donald Trump was questioned by ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Fox News’ Harris Faulkner
Convention attendees react during Donald Trump’s interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention
All of it made for a visibly irritated Trump.
He has played the race card before, notably back in the Barack Obama era when he promoted a racist birther conspiracy about the former president.
Trump made a name for himself in national politics when he falsely claimed Obama was born in Kenya.
At his appearance in Chicago on Wednesday, Trump was angry out of the gate.
ABC’s Rachel Scott, who asked him the first question, probed him about the concerns black journalists had about his appearance, noting he has criticized black reporters in the past.
‘First of all I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,’ Trump told Scott.
‘You don’t even say hello how are you?’ Trump lectured, calling ABC a ‘fake news network.’
‘I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country,’ he said.
‘I think it’s a very rude introduction. I don’t know exactly why you would do something like that,’ he said.
And he offered this: ‘I have been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln.’