New Delhi:
With the US presidential election in its final stretch, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are leaving no stone unturned to win over voters. While Harris has tried to play on her past as a prosecutor and how she will prosecute the ex-president for crimes he is on trial for, Trump has questioned the vice president’s racial identity.
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has launched a racist attack on Kamala Harris by asking if she is “Indian or black.”
“I've known her for a long time, indirectly, not very directly, and she was always of Indian descent, and she was just promoting her Indian descent,” Trump said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.
“I didn't know she was black until a few years ago, when she happened to become black, and now she wants to be known as black,” he added.
Despite the comments spiraling into a huge controversy, the 78-year-old took things up a notch by sharing a photo on social media showing Kamala Harris' “Indian heritage.”
“Thank you Kamala for the beautiful photo you sent from many years ago! Your warmth, friendship and love for your Indian heritage is greatly appreciated,” Trump said as he shared the photo on Truth Social.
Trump has a history of attacking his opponents on the basis of race. He falsely accused Barack Obama, the nation's first black president, of not being born in the United States.
Trump attacked former UN ambassador and his Republican opponent Nikki Haley for falsely claiming that she could not be president because her parents were not US citizens when she was born.
And now, Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was Indian and her father, Donald Jasper Harris, is Jamaican. They both immigrated to the US.
She is aiming to become the first Black woman and Asian American president in US history, and her entry into the 2024 election has sparked increased enthusiasm for her candidacy among Black voters and young people — groups Trump is seeking to broaden his appeal.
Trump's controversial comments come as the race for the November 5 presidential election gains momentum. Opinion polls show that Vice President Harris, who suddenly became the presidential candidate less than 10 days ago, has closed the gap with her Republican rival.
Harris later on Wednesday condemned Trump's comments as “the same old show” of “divisiveness” and “disrespect.”
“Let me put it this way: The American people deserve better. The American people deserve better than that,” Harris said during a speech at a historic black sorority convention in Houston.
A July Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll released Tuesday showed Harris eroding Trump’s lead in seven states likely to decide the election, with the former president leading 48% to 47% — a statistical tie. The poll also found Harris with 75% of black voters in those states, compared with 19% for Trump.