Former US president and Republican candidate Donald Trump caused controversy today by suggesting that his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, ‘suddenly became black’ in order to win the votes of African-Americans.
In a tense interview during the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, Trump said that in the past Vice President Harris ‘only promoted her Indian heritage’.
‘I didn't know she was black until a few years ago, she became black and wants to be known as black. Is it one or the other? I respect both, but she obviously doesn't respect that,’ Trump pointed out, questioning the racial identity of the vice-president, who is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, and who in her public life promotes both origins.
The tense interview was moderated by black journalists Rachel Scott from ABC, Kadia Goba from Semafor and Harris Faulkner from Fox News.
Trump ended up calling the first two ‘very rude’ and disgusting, in an exchange of words in which the journalists insisted on getting answers from the former president.
Harris spent most of her childhood with her mother, but studied at Howard University, a predominantly black university.
The White House immediately called Trump's comment repulsive and insulting.
‘No one has the right to tell [Harris] who she is or how she identifies,’ said government spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
In the interview, Trump also distanced himself from his vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, for criticising the fact that the country is in the hands of single women and people without children.
‘He's a very family-orientated person (...) I know people without families who are very good and in many cases better. Not having a family doesn't mean there's anything wrong,’ the Republican tycoon emphasised.
Vance criticised Harris for not having children and downplayed the fact that she is the stepmother of her husband Doug Emhoff's children.
Harris has been rapidly gathering Democratic support after Biden, whose candidacy failed after his disastrous performance in the 27 June debate against Trump, dropped out of the race.
Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be somewhat or very satisfied if Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted after Biden's decision.
In a separate AP-NORC poll, conducted before Biden's withdrawal but after his debate against former Republican President Donald Trump, only about 4 in 10 Democrats said they were somewhat or very satisfied that the current head of state was the Democratic Party's likely candidate for president.
The rapid changes in opinion among Democrats in such a short time underline how quickly the party -- from ordinary voters to elected officials -- has coalesced around Harris.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Minority Leader Jim Clyburn, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were quick to announce their support for Harris.
Democratic fundraisers, former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama announced their support at the end of last week.
