Donald Trump spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists Wednesday, in a move rife with controversy. Trump exceeded expectations that he’d say something horrific again and again—particularly when asked whether or not he considered his likely Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, to be a “DEI hire.” The Republican nominee replied with a stream of jaw-dropping racism that should be immediately disqualifying.
Trump began by asking ABC’s Rachel Scott to define DEI—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. When she did just that, Trump repeatedly insisted, “You have to define it.” Finally, Scott stopped allowing Trump to dodge the heart of the issue.
Scott: Do you believe Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a Black woman?
Trump: Well, I can say now I think, maybe, it’s a little bit different. So, I’ve known her a long time indirectly, not directly, and she was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black.
But it got so much worse.
Trump: Now she wants to be known as Black. I don’t know. Is she Indian, or is she Black?
Scott: She has always identified herself as a Black woman and went to a historically Black college.
Trump: I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t. Because she was Indian all the way, then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went—she became a Black person.
To get the full sneering, disrespectful effect, you have to watch the video.
Harris faces untold scrutiny for her diverse heritage, and not just from the right. Trump’s attacks on her at Wednesday’s event were particularly egregious, even for him.
The media has done a great job overlooking Trump’s statements and cherry-picking one reasonable thing he said out of a pile of excrement proves he’s a changed man. But they’re really going to have a hard time with this one.
In fact, they already are.
