Former president, Donald Trump made some racially charged remarks towards Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, during a controversial event in Chicago that took place on Wednesday.
As we previously shared, Trump falsely questioned Harris’ racial background, suggesting that she only “turned Black” at some point in the past. This incident occurred during a panel discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists conference. “I’ve known [Harris] 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 and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian, or is she Black?” Trump asked.
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While responding back to the news, White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre labeled Trump’s comments as insulting. “As a person of color, as a Black woman, who is in this position that is standing before you to at this podium, behind this lectern — what he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive, it’s insulting,” Jean-Pierre said. “No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. That is no one’s right. It is someone’s own decisions. It is — I’ll add this — only she can speak to her experience.”
At the NABJ panel, Trump expressed uncertainty about the details of the case involving Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy in her Illinois residence. The deputy, Sean Grayson, is facing charges of first-degree murder in connection with the incident. Trump has also made remarks at rallies advocating for police officers to be granted “federal immunity.”
“I don’t know the exact case but I saw something, and it didn’t look — it didn’t good to me, it didn’t look good to me,” Trump said to the crowd.
During the panel discussion, a participant questioned Trump about the rationale behind granting immunity to the officer involved in the Sonya Massey case.
“Well, he might not. I mean, it depends, it depends on what happens,” Trump responded.