"I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?"
Donald Trump attacked Kamala Harris’ racial identity, asking “is she Indian or is she black?”
His remarks shocked the audience at a convention hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.
Trump said: “I’ve known her a long time, indirectly not directly… and 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, so I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?”
Vice President Kamala Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US.
At a Texas rally, Ms Harris addressed the remarks:
“This afternoon. Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists.
“And it was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better.
“The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader 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.”
An aide for Ms Harris described the appearance as an “absolute disaster” for Trump.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre instantly condemned the comments as “impulsive and insulting”.
She said: “It doesn’t matter if it’s a former leader, a former president, it is insulting and we have to put that she is the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris.
“We have to put some respect on her name.”
Ms Harris, who describes herself as African American and South Asian Indian American, hopes to become America’s first female president.
Donald Trump has been repeatedly asked about his choice of running mate.
One person in the limelight is JD Vance, who controversially referred to women without children as “childless cat ladies” and appeared to suggest they should have less say in the democratic process.
Trump, who is facing several criminal cases against him, including over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, said:
“Historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have impact. I mean, virtually no impact.”
“You’re voting for the president, and you can have a vice president who’s outstanding in every way, and I think JD is… but you’re not voting that way.
“You’re voting for me. If you like me, I’m going to win. If you don’t, I’m not going to.”
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