After Donald Trump told journalists on Wednesday that his presidential opponent Kamala Harris āturned Blackā for political gain, Trumpās comments have impacted the way many multirace voters are thinking about the two candidates.
āShe was only promoting Indian heritage,ā the former president said during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention last week. āI didnāt 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.ā
āIs she Indian or is she Black?ā he asked.
Sheās both.
Harris, whose mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican, would make history if she is elected president. She would be both the first female president and the first Asian American president.
Multiracial American voters say they have heard similar derogatory remarks about their identities their whole lives. Some identify with Harrisā politics more than others but, overall, they told NBC News that Trumpās comments will not go unnoticed.
Even for white people - havenāt you ever heard someone say something like, āIām German and Irish on my motherās sideā?
The idea of having two different heritages is completely common and obvious. Itās not that Trump or other Republicans are having trouble wrapping their heads around the concept. Itās a racist attack, plain and simple.
Iām still confused as to who they are trying to convince that Harris isnāt really black. Whose vote would change from Harris to Trump based on Trump claiming she isnāt really black? Or, if heās not after votes, what will believing sheās not really black change for how his own followers see things if he loses?
Or does he think heās out of the water as far as his legal troubles go and maybe heās just trying to exit gracefully without making his base turn on him by making it look like heās still fighting?
Trump was making modest gains with black voters, who have since surged in support for Harris. His message was as simple as āSheās not really one of youā because heās upset heās losing support.
Trump is butthurt anytime someone doesnāt like him - any individual, any constituency. Itās just the same narcissism he always shows.
Yeah ok, that angle does make a kind of sense. Since he was getting support from them, he assumed they thought like him and that this would be an effective argument.