Republicans are freaking out after Donald Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s race Wednesday.
At the National Association of Black Journalists convention, Trump claimed that Harris chose to suddenly “turn” Black.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said, responding to a question on the right calling her a DEI hire. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black.”
“I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump asked, and then said, “I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went—she became a Black person.”
According to Axios, several Republicans think Trump’s words were crazy.
“It was awful,” one House Republican told the publication. They said it called into question if Trump can control his words against the first woman, Black, and Asian American vice president.
“Maybe they don’t know how to handle the campaign, and so you default to issues that just should simply not be an issue,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski. She pointed out that it’s only the latest misstep by the Trump campaign.
“Childless cat women, DEI candidates, now, ‘Is she black? Is she Indian?’” Murkowski said.
Another House Republican said, “That was not a demonstration on how to win over undecided voters.”
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan called out Trump’s comments on X (formerly Twitter) without mentioning him by name.
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Several Republicans thought the focus should be on Harris’s policies, including one senator who usually doesn’t shy from such discussions.
“I ain’t getting involved in that. Let him talk about what he wants to talk about. I’m talking about how bad our country is in shape right now because of her,” said Tommy Tuberville.
“I think the better approach is to focus on their policies of Kamala Harris…That’s what I’ve been talking about,” said Senator Steve Daines, the Senate GOP’s campaign chief.
Trump made a number of unwise comments at the NABJ convention Wednesday, whether it was his comments on Harris’s race and cognitive health, his use of the term “Black jobs,” or his vow to pardon January 6 rioters. Strangely, he thinks he nailed his appearance there, perhaps further evidence of his own cognitive decline.
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