White House fires back after Trump answers question about Harris being called a ‘DEI hire’

President Trump, while taking part in a Q&A at the National Association of Black Journalists, questioned if Vice President Harris was Indian or Black.

President Trump told a crowd on Wednesday that Vice President Harris "became a Black person," after years of identifying as Indian, when a reporter asked him a question related to her race.

Trump was speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Wednesday afternoon when ABC News’ Rachel Scott asked the former president if he agreed with Republican lawmakers who have characterized Harris as a "DEI" or diversity, equity and inclusion, hire. 

"I've known her for a long time, indirectly, not directly… and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage," Trump said. "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?"

The vice president's mother was born in India and her father is a Black man from Jamaica. 

Harris’s campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, released a statement about Trump’s comments shortly after the event.

"The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people," Tyler said. "Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.

"Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign," Tyler added. "It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also responded to Trump's comments, saying what he said is "insulting," adding, "No one has any right to tell someone who they are."

"How they identify, that is no one's right. It is someone's own decision," Jean-Pierre said. "Only she can speak to her experience.  Only she can speak to what it's like. She's the only person that can do that. And I think it's insulting for anybody. It doesn't matter if it's a former leader, a former president. It is insulting.

"She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris," she added. "We have to put some respect on her name here."

Trump posted on Truth Social following the NABJ event, writing: "The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!"