Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump questioned whether his Democratic rival Kamala Harris is “black” in a contentious appearance at the largest annual conference of black journalists in the US in Chicago.
“Is she Indian or is she black?” Trump asked of his opponent, drawing jeers from the audience. “She was Indian until now and suddenly she turned black,” he added.
Harris, whose mother was Indian and whose father was black Jamaican, is the first black vice president and the first of Asian descent. After launching her campaign for the White House, she has faced a barrage of sexist and racist attacks online, even as the GOP leadership urged lawmakers and senators to avoid personal comments and focus on policy issues.
In an initial reaction, the White House called Trump’s comments about Harris’ racial identity “offensive.”
The interview, before about 1,000 reporters, began in a tense atmosphere when ABC News reporter Rachel Scott asked Trump to explain why black voters should support him despite his history of racist comments. In response, Trump called the question “horrible,” “hostile” and “disgraceful” and called ABC a fake. “I was the best president for the black people since Abraham Lincoln,” he claimed.
Trump’s first appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual conference sparked backlash, and one of the conference’s co-chairs resigned in protest.
Speaking to delegates, Trump said that while he has secured the support of billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk, he opposes everyone owning electric cars.
He also said that if elected he would pardon the “January 6 protesters” who stormed Congress trying to block the ratification of Joe Biden’s election because they were “condemned by a very cruel system.”
On immigration, he said his message is that he will stop those who invade the country and that on the first day of his presidency he will close the border.
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