The White House on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump for his comments about Kamala Harris’ race, saying his claim that 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, called Trump’s comment “insulting.” She also said that as vice president, Harris deserves “respect.”
“No one has the right to tell someone who they are or how they identify,” Jean-Pierre said.
In a tense and contentious interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference, Trump repeatedly questioned Harris’ racial background. His comments drew gasps from the audience of Black journalists and pushback from reporters on stage questioning him.
“She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to respect her name,” said Karine Jean-Pierre
Trump began the interview with a criticism of Harris, his Democratic rival: “She was Indian through and through and all of a sudden she turned around and became a black person. I think someone should look into that.”
Harris’s mother is from South India and her father is from Jamaica. The vice president has always identified as South Asian and Black.
“I respect either one of them, but she obviously doesn’t. Because she was Indian through and through and all of a sudden she turned around and 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 vice president in US history.
During Jean-Pierre’s press conference, NBC’s Peter Alexander read Trump’s remarks aloud 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 to me is repulsive and offensive,” Jean-Pierre said.
He added: “It’s insulting to anyone, whether it’s a foreign leader or a former president, it’s insulting.”
“She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. We need to give her name some respect.”
Donald Trump confronted ABC’s Rachel Scott during his interview at the National Association of Black Journalists
Harris’s campaign condemned her comments.
“The hostility that Donald Trump displayed on stage today is the same hostility he has displayed 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 testament to the chaos and division that have been the hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies throughout the campaign.’
Trump was in a fiery mood as he sat down with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, Fox News host Harris Faulkner and Semafor reporter Kadia Goba.
The interview started almost an hour late for conflicting reasons.
There were reports that the former president was unhappy with NABJ fact-checking his remarks in real time. Trump claimed it was because conference organizers were having problems with the audio equipment.
His comments during the interview sparked outrage among black journalists.
Karen Attiah, co-chair of this year’s NABJ convention who resigned after Trump’s appearance was announced, wrote on X during her interview: “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
“I’m so angry right now. NABJ, this was a colossal mistake,” she added later.
April Ryan, a prominent Black journalist who covers the White House and had problems with Trump when he was president, wrote: “Trump came to our house, to a convention supporting the Black press, and insulted us to our faces. Worse, he was invited to do this by NABJ leaders. Shame on him!”
Trump also expressed displeasure at reports that Harris would be allowed to address the group virtually.
Both candidates had initially been invited to appear in person. When Harris’s team said she could only do so virtually, organizers said no.
But when Black journalists attending the conference expressed outrage that Trump was addressing them but Harris — who would be the first Black woman president if elected — was not, Harris was invited to do so via Zoom.
Trump reacted furiously to the news, saying he was told he had to fly to Chicago.
“Myself and Crazy Kamala Harris were told we could not do this event over ZOOM. It is not allowed or acceptable! She refused and I am preparing to land in Chicago to be there. Now I have been told she is doing the event over ZOOM. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” she wrote on Truth Social.
Kamala Harris campaigns in Atlanta on Tuesday
Donald Trump was questioned by Rachel Scott of ABC News, Kadia Goba of Semafor and Harris Faulkner of Fox News
Convention attendees react during Donald Trump’s interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention
All of this made Trump visibly irritated.
He has played the race card before, notably during the Barack Obama era, when he promoted a racist conspiracy theory about the former president’s birthplace.
Trump made a name for himself in national politics when he falsely claimed that Obama was born in Kenya.
Appearing in Chicago on Wednesday, Trump appeared angry from the start.
ABC’s Rachel Scott, who asked him the first question, quizzed him on concerns black journalists had about his appearance, noting that he has criticized black journalists in the past.
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible way,” Trump told Scott.
“You don’t even say hello to me, how are you?” Trump lectured, calling ABC a “fake news network.”
“I came here in good spirits. I love the black people in this country,” he said.
“I think it’s a very rude presentation. 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.”