Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, has issued a statement after she was targeted multiple times during former President Donald Trump’s appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.
Harris did not address comments Trump made about her directly, but spoke to the general tone of Trump’s remarks at the convention.
Here is Harris’ full statement:
“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 and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people.
“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.
“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign. It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.”
While speaking at the NABJ Convention, Former President Donald Trump was asked whether he believes Kamala Harris was only hired because she is a Black woman.
In one of the most controversial portions of the panel discussion, Trump was asked about some Republicans calling Harris a “DEI hire,” and he questioned Harris’ heritage in his answer.
“So I’ve known her a long time – indirectly, not directly very much – and 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,” Trump said. “And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
He went on to say the change happened “all of a sudden,” when she “made a turn and she became a Black.”
Harris was invited to address the convention as well, but was unable to attend. Her campaign is working to schedule a digital meeting with NABJ journalists, according to officials.