Harris calls Trump’s false claims about race ‘the same old show’ of divisiveness and disrespect
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump false claims about her race were “the same old show” as she stressed the need for black women to organize for his defeat in November.
In a speech to the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. — one of the “Divine Nine” historically black fraternities and sisterhoods — in Houston, Harris told the audience, “When I look at everyone here, I see family.”
She drew knowing laughs from the audience when she mentioned Trump’s comments earlier in the day at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. Trump said Harris, the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice presidenthad only promoted her Indian heritage in the past.
“I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago, when she happened to become black and now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?” Trump said as speech to NABJ in Chicago.
Harris responded briefly during her speech to the student body, saying Trump’s display was “the same old show: divisive and disrespectful.”
She added: “And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better.”
“Our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength,” Harris said.
Referring to the combative tone of Trump’s interview at the NABJ convention, she said: “The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts.”
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the United States. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation’s leading historically black colleges and universities, where she also joined the historically black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. As a U.S. senator, Harris served on the Congressional Black Caucus.
Speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho members, Harris said, “Our country is counting on you” to register people to vote and make sure they turn out. “When we organize, we move mountains,” she said.
Black Greek life is often seen as a lifelong commitment, leading many members to return to regular gatherings — or “boulés,” in the organizations’ parlance — that each draw tens of thousands of members. Harris has attended three such events in the past month, including the boulé for her own sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Officially apolitical, the Divine Nine organizations emphasize a public service mission and have extensive networks in politics, business, and the media.
June Penny, 66, of Georgia, attended Harris’ speech in Houston. She said Trump’s comments about Harris’ race reminded her of how he tried to discredit then-President Barack Obama.
“I’m not surprised he’d try to find something like that,” Penny said.
She said Trump’s views do not reflect the reality of race in the country, noting, “I have mixed grandchildren” — her son-in-law is white — “and the world sees them as black.”
More than 30 members of Congress are affiliated with Black Greek-letter organizations. President Joe Biden’s closest advisers, including Stephen Benjamin, Cedric Richmond and Keisha Lance Bottoms, are members of Divine Nine organizations. Harris has welcomed such connections to staff her operation and build her own network in Washington.
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Matt Brown, Associated Press editor in Chicago, contributed.