Former President Donald Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ race on Wednesday, asking whether she was Indian or Black.
Trump’s statement came in response to a question about claims by his supporters that Harris was only selected as vice president because she was a Black woman.
“Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket Because she is a Black woman?” asked ABC News’ Rachel Scott during the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago.
Trump responded by falsely claiming that Harris had only recently described herself as Black.
“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,” Trump said.
“So I don’t know, is she Indian, or is she Black?”
Scott pointed out that Harris has indeed identified as Black in the past and attended Howard University, a historically Black institution. She also joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority.
Harris has also spoken about her South Asian roots by way of her mother, who was born in Chennai, India.
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