Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds sparred with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday over Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity.
Former President Donald Trump argued last week at the National Association Of Black Journalists (NABJ) 2024 Conference in Chicago, Illinois, that he wasn’t aware Harris was black till a few years ago due to her Indian heritage. Donalds pushed back on a question from Stephanopoulos regarding the statement made by Trump, arguing how Harris’ race has been “played up” over the years.
“Well, first, George, in Chicago he was responding to a question from, I believe, Rachel Scott. This is really a phony controversy. I don’t really care, and most people don’t,” Donalds said. “But if we’re going to be accurate, when Kamala Harris went into the United States Senate, it was AP [News] that said she was the first Indian American United States senator. It was actually played up a lot when she came into the senate, now she’s running nationally, obviously the campaign has shifted.”
“They’re talking much more about her father’s heritage and her black identity. It doesn’t really matter, the president mentioned it. What he also talks about far more frequently is the fact that Kamala Harris is the person who created this massive inflation, which is destroying black families, white families, Hispanic families,” Donalds continued as he called out Harris’ failures on the border and other areas.
Stephanopoulos continued to press Donalds on why the lawmaker and Trump furthered questions into Harris’ background, highlighting how she has always “identified” as biracial due to her Indian mother and Jamaican father.
“Well, George, first of all, this is something that’s actually a conversation throughout social media right now. There are a lot of people who are trying to figure this out, but again, that’s a side issue, not the main issue. The main issue —” Donalds began.
“Sir, one second. You just did it — You just did it again!” Stephanopoulos yelled. “Why do you insist on questioning her racial identity?”
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The two continued to argue back and forth, with Donalds repeating that the Associated Press had published the article playing up Harris’ Indian background when she had won a senate seat for California.
“George, actually, I’m not the one who keeps repeating it. George, you’re the one who’s bringing it up now,” Donalds said.
“Sir, you’ve done it three times. Every single answer you gave me — now let me finish, sir! Every single answer you gave me repeated the slur,” Stephanopoulos said.
Both Donalds and Stephanopoulos could be heard talking over each other before the ABC host called out Donalds for not saying the statement given by Trump was “wrong.”
“So then what you’re saying — I want to get off this topic because it’s not the only thing that’s going on, but George, now you’re saying that AP is the one that slurred Kamala Harris? Because those are the facts. You can go to the internet and look at the clips George if you want to or we can talk about this now,” Donalds said. “I prefer to talk about the future of our country because the American people are struggling. The American people do need serious policy decisions to be made, and they need serious leadership on the world stage. Kamala Harris has not proven that she can do that. Donald J. Trump has proven that he can do that.”
“AP did not say that Kamala Harris is not black. She is biracial. She is Indian, she is black. You continue to repeat the fact — you continue to repeat the slur. I don’t understand why you and the president do it. But it’s clear you’re not going to say that it’s wrong, and you’ve now established that for our audience,” Stephanopoulos said.
Featured Image Credit: Screenshot/Grabien/ABC
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