Former president Donald Trump falsely has falsely claimed that his 2024 Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, "happened to turn black" a few years ago, saying that "all of a sudden, she made a turn" in her identity.
Trump's comments at a gathering of black journalists in Chicago came when an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republicans on Capitol Hill who have characterised Harris as a "DEI hire". Trump responded by questioning Harris' heritage.
"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?" the former president said.
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"I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went – she became a black person," he said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. "I think somebody should look into that too."
Trump's comments are reminiscent of his similar attacks on black political rivals in the past, including the years he spent pushing the false, racist "birther" conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Harris' mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first black and first Asian American vice president.
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Trump on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) was interviewed by a panel that included ABC News' Rachel Scott, Semafor's Kadia Goba and Fox News' Harris Faulkner.
Scott began the interview by asking Trump: "You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former president Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true.
"You have told four congresswomen of colour, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like 'animal' and 'rabid' to describe black district attorneys.
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"You have attacked black journalists, calling them a 'loser,' saying the questions they ask are, quote, 'stupid' and 'racist.' You've had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir – now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?"
A combative Trump responded: "Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question so – in such a horrible manner, first question. You don't even say, 'Hello. How are you?'"
He asked Scott if she was with ABC, saying the network was "a fake news network" and "a terrible network".
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"I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country. I've done so much for the black population of this country, including employment, including opportunity zones with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina," the former president said. "I've done so much, and, you know, I say this: historically black colleges and universities were out of money, they were stone-cold broke, and I saved them. I gave them long-term financing, and nobody else was doing it."
"It's a very rude introduction. I don't know exactly why you would do something like that," Trump said.
Scott asked if Trump found it acceptable that some Republicans on Capitol Hill have referred to Harris as a "DEI hire" – using the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion.
"I really don't know. Could be. Could be," he said.
The former president also repeatedly criticised the organization for the event's set-up, which he said made it difficult to hear other panellists and delayed the start of the event. A spokesperson for NABJ told CNN that technology issues had delayed the start.
Trump in his remarks called himself "the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln," a comment that drew audible groans from the journalists in attendance. He ignored a follow-up question about whether he was better than Lyndon B Johnson, who signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
"I have been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln," he said. "For you to start off a question-and-answer period, especially when you're 35 minutes late because you couldn't get your equipment to work, I think it's a disgrace. I really do, I think it's a disgrace."
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