Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump’s Wednesday speech, where he claimed that she “turned black” a few years ago.
Taking the stage at the 60th Biennial International Boulé of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. in Houston, Harris addressed the interview hours earlier where Trump insisted that “all of a sudden, she did a U-turn.”
His comments came at a meeting of Black journalists in Chicago, when an interviewer asked him if he agreed with the Republican sentiment that his rival was a “DEI hire.”
When asked to “define DEI,” the reporter went on to question Harris’ heritage.
The vice president, in turn, said that “the American people deserve better,” in a speech in which he also urged the African-American brotherhood to “fight” because “there is a lot at stake.”
While speaking at the 60th Biennial International Boulé of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. in Houston on Wednesday, Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump’s claims that she “turned black” just hours earlier
Trump’s comments came at a meeting of Black journalists in Chicago, when an interviewer asked him if he agreed with the Republican sentiment that his rival was a “DEI hire.”
“This afternoon Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists,” Harris said during her speech.
And it was the same old spectacle: division and disrespect.
Let me say that the American people deserve better.
“A leader who speaks the truth,” he added, “who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us.”
“They are an essential source of our strength,” he added.
However, he appeared to try to stay out of the controversy surrounding the interview, choosing not to quote it directly or refer to comments made by the conservative earlier in the day.
Instead, he continues to disparage his competitor and his long-overdue presidential term, which he considers a failure and something to be left in the past.
The sorority she spoke to is a member of the Divine Nine, a group of distinguished Black sororities and fraternities who were quick to cast ballots on Harris’ behalf.
The sorority she spoke to is a member of the Divine Nine, a group of distinguished Black sororities and fraternities who were quick to cast ballots on Harris’ behalf.
Harris then thanked them for electing her and Biden, and suggested they have the power to do so again in November.
“I believe in the promise of America. And there aren’t many of us who are empirical proof of the promise of America,” said Harris, who is a member of another sorority, Divine Nine.
“With greater service comes greater progress,” he continued, before listing some of the brotherhood’s historic achievements.
‘You helped elect Joe Biden as President of the United States and me as the first female Vice President of the United States.’
“Our nation needs you,” he added.
Vowing to take on Big Pharma, landlords, big banks and corporations and defend the middle class, he defiantly declared: “We are not going back.”
Harris also spoke of the so-called “promise of America,” which she said is about “greater service and greater progress.”
She touched on the current cost of living crisis and concepts such as equal pay for women, before briefly touching on the central issue: Trump’s controversial comments.
Vowing to take on Big Pharma, landlords, big banks and corporations to defend the middle class, Harris at one point defiantly declared, “We’re not going back,” referring to another Trump term in office.
It all started when ABC’s Rachel Scott, sitting across from the Republican, mentioned that many people did not think it was appropriate for him to be in Chicago considering his past comments about people of color, including Indian-American Nikki Haley.
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible way,” Trump told Scott, calling the reporter “nasty” and “hostile” in an unintentional ode to his 2016 campaign.
“You don’t even say hello to me, how are you?” Trump continued, before criticizing ABC as a “fake news network.”
“I came here in good spirits. I love the black people in this country,” he continued.
“I think it’s a very rude presentation. I don’t know exactly why you would do something like that,” he said.
That’s when he offered his controversial comments about Harris, after also being asked if he thought it was appropriate to refer to her as a “DEI hire,” as several Republicans have already done.
Among other things, he appeared to falsely claim that Harris did not adopt her black identity until it was beneficial for her to do so.
“She was always of Indian descent and she was just promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, Trump appeared to claim that Harris did not embrace her Black identity until it became appropriate — and beneficial — to do so.
‘I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she accidentally turned black.
“And now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know. Is she Indian or is she black?
“Someone should look into that,” he concluded, amid laughter and mockery, the latter more than the former.
“I respect both of them, but she obviously doesn’t.”
Scott noted that Harris has always identified as Black, before asking if he agreed with his contemporaries that Harris was a “DEI hire.”
Seemingly feigning confusion, the Tory replied: “I don’t really know, it could be,” before being greeted with a chorus of boos.