As the US Presidential election enters its final stretch, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are ramping up efforts to win over voters. Harris has been leveraging her prosecutorial background, emphasizing how she intends to hold the former president accountable for the crimes he is being tried for. Meanwhile, Trump has sparked controversy with remarks questioning Harris’s racial identity.
In a speech at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, Donald Trump questioned whether Kamala Harris is “Indian or Black”. He remarked, “I’ve known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, 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, and now she wants to be known as Black.”
Despite the backlash, Donald Trump, the 78-year-old Republican nominee, doubled down on his comments by sharing a picture on social media showcasing Harris’s Indian heritage. “Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago! Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump’s History of Racially Charged Attacks
Trump’s racially insensitive comments are not new. He previously accused Barack Obama, the first Black president, of not being born in the US. Additionally, he falsely claimed that Nikki Haley, former UN ambassador and his Republican primary opponent, could not be president because her parents were not US citizens when she was born. Now, his focus is on Kamala Harris.
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Kamala Harris, whose mother Shyamala Gopalan was Indian and father Donald Jasper Harris is Jamaican, aims to become the first Black woman and Asian-American president in US history. Her candidacy has generated significant enthusiasm among Black voters and young people, demographics Donald Trump has been trying to appeal to.
Harris Responds to Trump’s Remarks
In response to Trump’s comments, Kamala Harris condemned the divisiveness and disrespect. “Let me just say: The American people deserve better. The American people deserve better than that,” she stated during a speech to a historically Black sorority convention in Houston.
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With the presidential election set for November 5, recent opinion polls indicate a close contest. A July Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll revealed that Kamala Harris has erased Trump’s lead in seven key states, showing Kamala Harris at 48 percent and Donald Trump at 47 percent — a statistical tie. The poll also highlighted that Harris enjoys the support of 75 percent of Black voters, compared to 19 percent for Trump.
As the campaigns heat up, both candidates are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for victory. The American public is watching closely as the race continues to unfold.
