J.D. Vance has called the widespread criticism surrounding Donald Trump’s comments regarding the racial identity of Kamala Harris as “hysterical,” while blaming the media for “overreacting” in the hours since.
At the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, Trump boldly–and incorrectly–claimed Harris “turned Black,” and questioned, “Is she Indian or is she Black?”
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said. “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?”
“I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t,” Trump added. “She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.”
The immediate aftermath saw the former president criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, though Trump surrogates have continued to defend him.
Republican vice presidential candidate Vance was among those to support Trump, telling reporters aboard his campaign plane while en route to a campaign rally in Arizona: “I frankly just think it’s hysterical how much the media is overreacting to it,” Vance said, according to The Hill.
The 39-year-old is married to Usha Chilukuri Vance, who, while raised in San Diego, is the daughter of Indian immigrants. She is a Yale law graduate and trial lawyer. The couple have three children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.
NOTUS, who first reported Vance’s comments, added the Ohio senator labelled Harris a “chameleon.”
“The president doesn’t do scripted B.S. stuff,” Vance said. “He actually goes into hostile audiences, he answers tough questions, he pushes back against them, but he actually answers them, and how nice it is to have an American leader who’s not afraid to go into hostile places and actually answer some tough questions.
“So what he said, I thought it was hysterical. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris,” Vance continued. “She’s flip-flopped on every issue. She’s fake. She’s phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out. And it sounds like the president kicked us off in stride.”
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