Trump Attacks Harris’ Racial Identity, Asks ‘Is she Indian or Black?’

Former US President Donald Trump’s scathing attack on Kamala Harris’ racial identity has triggered a controversy.

Trump questioned the racial identity of his Democratic rival Kamala Harris during a convention of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago.

Media reports quoted Trump as saying, “She (Harris) 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 Black?… I respect either one but she obviously doesn’t,” Trump added.

Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US.

As a senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Michael Tyler, the communications director for Harris’ campaign, in a statement on Wednesday, said that “the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power”.