Former President Donald Trump used his turn before the nation’s largest professional association of Black journalists to question the racial identity of his rival for the White House this fall, telling a shocked National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago that Vice President Kamala Harris “happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.”
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00:00Mr. President, we so appreciate you giving us an hour of your time. I want to start by
00:05addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate
00:11for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from
00:16Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United
00:20States, which is not true. You have told four Congresswomen of color who were American citizens
00:26to go back to where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe
00:31black district attorneys. You've attacked black journalists, calling them a loser, saying
00:36the questions that they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. You've had dinner with a white
00:41supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking
00:46black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used
00:52language like that? Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question.
00:58So in such a horrible manner, first question, you don't even say hello. How are you? Are
01:06you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. And I think
01:13it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this
01:20country. I've done so much for the black population of this country. I think it's
01:25a very nasty question. I have answered the question. I have been the best president for
01:32the black population since Abraham Lincoln. That's my answer.
01:37Better than President Johnson who signed the Voting Rights Act.
01:39For you to start off a question and answer period, especially when you're 35 minutes
01:43late because you couldn't get your equipment to work in such a hostile manner. I think
01:48it's a disgrace. I really do.
01:49Let me just ask a follow up, sir, and then we'll move on to other questions here. Some
01:53of your own supporters, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have labeled Vice President
01:58Kamala Harris, who is the first black and Asian-American woman to serve as vice president,
02:03be on a major party ticket as a DEI hire. Is that acceptable language to you? And will
02:09you tell those Republicans and those supporters to stop it?
02:12How do you how do you define DEI? Go ahead. How do you define diversity, equity, inclusion?
02:17OK, yeah, good. Is that what your definition?
02:20That is that is give me a definition. Would you give me a definition? Give me a definition.
02:25Sir, I'm asking you a question.
02:26No, you have to define it. Define the define it for me if I just defined it, sir. Do you
02:30believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a black
02:34woman?
02:35Well, I can say no. I think it's maybe a little bit different. So I've known her a long time
02:40indirectly, not directly very much. And she was always of Indian heritage and she was
02:48only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago
02:52when she happened to turn black. And now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know.
02:57Is she Indian or is she black?
02:59She is always identified as a black.
03:00I respect either one. I respect either one. But she obviously doesn't because she was
03:05Indian all the way. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went. She became a
03:10black person.
03:11Just to be clear, sir, do you believe that she is a black woman?
03:12I think somebody should look into that, too, when you ask a continue in a very hostile,
03:17nasty tone.
03:18It's a direct question, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is a DEI
03:23hire?
03:24I really don't know. I mean, I really don't know. Could be. Could be.