(Chicago) Republican candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday accused his new rival Kamala Harris of having “gone black” for electoral reasons, during a heated exchange with African-American journalists in Chicago.
“She became black,” the former president said of the vice president. “She was an Indian through and through and all of a sudden she changed and she became a black person,” he told the panel.
Kamala Harris was born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. She is the first black and South Asian woman to seek the presidency. The 50-year-old defines herself as a “black woman.”
“Since Abraham Lincoln”
With less than 100 days to go before the US presidential election, Donald Trump has been forced to review his entire electoral strategy, with the surprise withdrawal of his former rival, Democrat Joe Biden.
The Republican had placed the health of the 81-year-old president at the heart of his political message by presenting him as a senile old man.
But ten days ago he inherited a new competitor, a black woman, 18 years his junior, against whom he must outline new arguments.
PHOTO NICOLE CRAINE, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre immediately denounced the comments about Harris’ skin color, calling them “insulting.” “No one has the right to tell someone how they identify,” she said.
During the same exchange with three journalists in Chicago, Donald Trump also claimed to be the “best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln”, the architect of the abolition of slavery.
“Baby Execution”
The fiery septuagenarian had already had particularly crude words for the vice president during an event in North Carolina last week, falsely accusing her of being in favor of the “execution of babies” because of her pro-abortion positions.
He similarly suggested that the candidate could not stand up to other world leaders in an interview with Fox News that aired earlier this week.
Always on the lookout for mocking nicknames for his opponents, Donald Trump has not yet decided on a nickname for his Democratic rival, alternating between “Kamala the liar”, “the hilarious one” and “the crazy one”.
The former president, who continues to sharpen his weapons in a turbulent campaign, will hold a rally in Pennsylvania at 6 p.m. ET, the state where he escaped an assassination attempt in mid-July.
On Saturday, he heads to Atlanta, Georgia, for another political event, alongside his running mate, JD Vance.
“Cat Women”
This 39-year-old senator, appointed to assist him in this presidential election, was to be an asset for the Republican’s campaign and an opportunity to attract new voters.
But for the moment, this Ohio elected official is more of a thorn in the former president’s side.
PHOTO JAE C. HONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance
The thirty-year-old has seen his popularity rating plummet in recent weeks due to the resurgence of several controversial videos.
In one, the former best-selling author mocks “unhappy cat ladies,” a reference to people who choose to live without a partner or children.
Speaking to donors, JD Vance also said that the entry of Vice President Kamala Harris into the race for the White House was a ” sucker Punch ” for the Republican camp, an expression which can be translated into French as “a blow of the club” or a “dirty blow”.
The Democratic candidate, who has crisscrossed Wisconsin, Georgia and Indiana in recent days, will travel to Houston, Texas, on Wednesday evening to speak to African-American students. On Wednesday, she won the support of the powerful autoworkers union, the UAW.