Donald Trump has questioned whether Kamala Harris is African-American or Indian during a controversial interview.
Trump, 78, took aim at his November 5 rival after falsely claiming the Vice President had not emphasised her mixed ethnic heritage.
Speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, the 45th President said: “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?”
Harris said Trump’s remarks were “the same old show”, adding it showed “divisiveness” and “disrespect”.
Donald Trump questions whether Kamala Harris is ‘black or Indian’REUTERSShe argued: “We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us – they are an essential source of our strength.”
The Vice President’s father Donald J Harris was born in Brown’s Town, Jamaica, and her mother Shyamala Gopalan was born in Chennai, India.
Harris’ parents divorced in 1971, eight-years after tying the knot.
Gopalan also died following a battle with colon cancer in 2009 at the age of 70.
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President Biden endorsed Kamala Harris after dropping out of the race GettyHarris, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee after Joe Biden quit the race, joined hte predominantly black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorotiy while studying at Howard University.
She also became a member of the Congressional Black Caucus after entering the Senate in 2017.
During his heated exchange about Harris’ ethnic background, Trump said: “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 became a black person.”
Trump came under fire over his remarks, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying no one has any “right to tell someone who they are”.
Donald Trump has come under fire for his comments
REUTERS
New York Representative Ritchie Torries also labelled the ex-President as a “relic of a racist past”.
Trump has made a number of other controversial remarks about his opponents ethnic backgrounds.
The 45th President falsely claimed that Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump for the Grand Old Party’s nomination, should not become Commander-in-Chief because her parents were not US citizens when she was born.
He also pushed out the baseless “birther” conspiracy about Barack Obama, alleging the 44th President was born in Kenya.
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1961.
Kamala Harris joined the Congressional Black Caucus after entering the Senate in 2017
Getty
Trump also insulted Elizabeth Warren by describing herself as “Pochahontas” after the Massachusetts Senator was accused of embellishing her Native American heritage.
However, in an ironic twist, Trump’s father denied being the son of German immigrants and instead tried to pass off as Swedish.
Trump is very proud of his mother’s Scottish roots, with the 78-year-old still owning a golf resort in Aberdeenshire.
Despite Trump’s controversial criticism of Harris, the Vice President is now two-points ahead in the opinion polls.
Experts believe a boost among young, African-American and Hispanic voters helps explain the shift.