Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday responded to accusations from former President Donald Trump that she had “become black” for political purposes, telling members of a historically Black sorority club that it was “show as usual.”
Harris, speaking at Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority’s 60th International Biennial Boulet in Houston, said Trump’s comments that day were a reminder of “what those four years meant.” [of Trump’s presidency] It was like this.
“Donald Trump spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual conference and it was the same old stuff: divisive and disrespectful,” she said. “Let me just say that the American people deserve better.”
“The American people deserve leaders who will tell us the truth. Leaders who will not react when confronted with the facts with hostility or anger. Leaders who understand that our differences do not divide us. They are an important source of our strength,” the 59-year-old vice president added.
Trump, 78, slammed his likely November opponent, Harris, at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention early Wednesday, claiming that until recently he “didn’t know” that Harris was “black.”
“I’ve known her indirectly for a long time, but not much in person. She’s always been Indian and she’s always just promoted her Indian ancestry. I never knew she was black, until a few years ago, when she happened to be black,” the Republican presidential candidate said.
“And now she wants to be known as a black person, so I don’t know if she’s Indian or black… but I respect both, and she’s obviously not.”
“She turned black. I think somebody should look into that,” Trump added.
The vice president’s father is black and from Jamaica, and his mother was born in India.
Harris graduated from historically black Howard University in 1986 and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of the “sacred nine” black sororities and fraternities, which also included Sigma Gamma Rho.
“As the first woman vice president of the United States, I come here to thank you for your years of service to our country and to declare that at this moment our country needs your leadership again,” Harris told attendees at the gala.
“Right now we are faced with a choice between two very different visions for our nation: one that focuses on the future, one that focuses on the past. And those of us in this room are fighting for the future,” she added.
Harris accused President Trump of trying to get three Supreme Court justices he “handpicked” to overturn Roe v. Wade, and claimed “now he’s going to pass a nationwide ban on abortion.”
“We will not let that happen,” the vice president vowed. “If I am president of the United States and Congress passes legislation to restore reproductive freedom, I promise you that I will sign it into law.”
Harris’ speech came after a campaign fundraiser in Houston that raised $2.5 million for the Harris Victory Fund, according to multiple reports.
The fundraiser was hosted by Sima Rajevardian, a Texas lawyer and former Democratic congressional candidate, and was attended by several Texas Democratic lawmakers and local officials.
Harris is scheduled to speak in Houston on Thursday at a tribute to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).
