Harris calls Trump’s claims about race “the same old show” of disrespect

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump’s false claims about her race were “the same old show,” stressing the need for black women to organize for his defeat in November.

Addressing Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. — one of the “Divine Nine” historically black fraternities and sororities — in Houston, Harris told the crowd, “When I look at everybody here, I see a family.”

She drew knowing chuckles 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 and first Asian woman to serve as vice president, had in the past promoted only her Indian heritage.

“I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she happened to be black and now she wants to be known as black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?” Trump said while addressing NABJ in Chicago.

Harris briefly responded during her speech to the sorority, saying Trump’s presentation was “the same old show: divisiveness and disrespect.”

She added: “And let me just say that 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 doesn’t 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 US. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the most prominent historically black colleges and universities in the country, where she also pledged the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. . As a US Senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Speaking to members of Sigma Gamma Rho, Harris said, “Our nation is counting on you” to register people to vote and make sure they go to the polls. “When we organize, mountains move,” she said.

Black Greek life is often seen as a lifelong involvement, prompting many members to return to regular meetings — or “boulés” in the organization’s parlance — that draw tens of thousands of members each. Harris has attended three such events in the past month, including the boulé for her own sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

The Divine Nine organizations, which are officially apolitical, emphasize public service as their mission and have deep networks in politics, business and the media.

June Penny, 66, of Georgia, who attended Harris’ speech in Houston, said Trump’s comments about Harris’ race reminded her of how he tried to discredit then-President Barack Obama.

“I’m not surprised they would try to find something like that,” Penny said.

She said Trump’s views did not reflect the reality of race in the country, noting, “I have biracial grandchildren” — her son-in-law is white — “and the world sees them as black.”

More than 30 members of Congress are affiliated with a black Greek-letter organization. Close advisers to President Joe Biden, including Stephen Benjamin, Cedric Richmond and Keisha Lance Bottoms, are members of the Divine Nine organizations. Harris welcomed such connections to staff his operation and to build his own network in Washington.

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Associated Press writer Matt Brown in Chicago contributed.