Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) leaped to former President Donald Trump’s defense after the Republican nominee for president attacked his opponent’s biracial heritage.
Vance, who is Trump’s running mate, called Vice President Kamala Harris a “chameleon” and the reaction to Trump saying she “became a Black person” “hysterical.”
The issue arose when Trump spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago, the IJR reported.
“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?” Trump said.
Vance was asked by reporters about Trump’s comments.
“I frankly just think it’s hysterical how much the media is overreacting to it,” Vance said.
He added, “The President doesn’t do scripted BS stuff. He actually goes into hostile audiences, he answers tough questions, he pushes back against them, but he actually answers them and how nice it is to have an American leader who’s not afraid to go into hostile places and actually answer some tough questions.
“So what he said, I thought it was hysterical. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris,” Vance said. “She’s flip flopped on every issue. She’s fake. She’s phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out. And it sounds like the president kicked us off in stride.”
Harris is both Indian American and African American. Her mother emigrated from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica.
Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C.
Attacking Harris’ biracial heritage is nothing new for Trump or his camp.
In 2019, Donald Trump Jr. shared and later deleted a tweet that claimed Harris was “not an American Black,” per The New York Times.
In 2020, the former president suggested Harris might not be eligible to serve as vice president because her parents were immigrants. He was quickly “[hammered] … for entertaining the conspiracy theory,” The Hill reported.
