"She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black, until a number of 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. She has faced a barrage of sexist and racist attacks online since launching her White House campaign earlier this month.
"What he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive, it’s insulting," this is White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responding to Trump’s remarks shortly after. "No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify, that is no one’s right."
Trump’s first-ever appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention on Wednesday was tense throughout.
"Are you with ABC? Because I think they are a fake news network."
While on stage, he took jabs at ABC, the questions being asked, and even the equipment.
"I’m sorry, I cannot understand, your microphone..."
There was backlash from some members, prompting a co-chair of the convention to step down in protest.
Trump has been actively courting Black voters and has held events in cities with large Black populations, including Atlanta.
But President Joe Biden’s decision to step down in favor of Harris could make it more challenging for him to hold his gains with Black voters.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday showed Harris leading Trump 43%-42%, within the poll’s margin of error, the latest in a series of surveys that have shown Harris erasing the lead Trump had opened during the final weeks of Biden’s faltering campaign.
