White House fires back after Trump answers question about Harris being called a 'DEI hire'

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Trump at NABJ: 'You invited me under false pretense'

Former President Trump says during his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists' convention in Chicago that Vice President Kamala Harris has only promoted one side of her heritage and fires back on a DEI question.

Former President Trump told a crowd on Wednesday that Vice President Harris "became a Black person," after years of identifying as Indian, when a reporter asked him a question related to her race.

Trump was speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention on Wednesday afternoon when ABC News’ Rachel Scott asked the former president if he agreed with Republican lawmakers who have characterized Harris as a "DEI," or diversity, equity and inclusion, hire. 

"I've known her for a long time, indirectly, not directly… and 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?"

Scott then told Trump that Harris has always identified as Black, adding she went to a "historically Black college."

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Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

"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 became a Black person," Trump said. "I think somebody should look into that."

Harris’ campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, released a statement about Trump’s comments shortly after the event.

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Vice President Kamala Harris' mother was born in India, while her father was a Black man from Jamaica.  (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)

"The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people," Tyler said. "Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency — while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us."

"Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign," Tyler added. "It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also responded to Trump's comments, saying what he said is "insulting," adding, "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 decision," Jean-Pierre said. "Only she [Harris] can speak to her experience. Only she can speak to what it's like. She's the only person that can do that. And I think it's insulting for anybody. It doesn't matter if it's a former leader, a former president. It is insulting."

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Former President Trump got into a heated Q&A session at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

"She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris," Jean-Pierre added. "We have to put some respect on her name here."

Trump posted on Truth Social following the NABJ event, writing: "The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!"

In 2016, The Associated Press reported that then-California Attorney General Harris became the first Indian-American to become a U.S. senator.

Four years later, when then-Vice President Biden tapped Harris as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election, Harris was referred to as the first Black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.

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Harris, born in 1964 to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, spent much of her formative years in Berkeley, California.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.