(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday told a conference of Black journalists that he didn’t know Vice President Kamala Harris was Black until “she happened to turn Black.”
Trump attended a Q&A session at a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago, his campaign’s latest effort to secure support from Black voters, a key demographic ahead of November. His comments were a response to a question about some Republicans’ efforts to minimize Harris’ title as the nation’s first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president on a major party ticket.
According to her detractors, her position was a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) “hire.”
“Is that acceptable language to you, and will you tell those Republicans and those supporters to stop it?” ABC News’ Rachel Scott asked.
“How do you define ‘DEI’?” Trump replied.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump 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.”
This is a developing report. Refresh for updates.
NewsNation’s partner The Hill contributed to this report.
