Trump criticized by Republicans and Democrats after questioning Harris’s racial identity – live | US elections 2024
Trump's NABJ comments on Harris's racial identity trigger bipartisan criticism
Donald Trump’s questioning of Kamala Harris’s racial identity during his NABJ appearance yesterday has triggered criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike.
Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland, took to X and wrote: “It’s unacceptable and abhorrent to attack vice president Harris or anyone’s racial identity. The American people deserve better.”
It's unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity. The American people deserve better.
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) July 31, 2024
Alaska’s Republican senator Lisa Murkowski said, “Maybe they don’t know how to handle the campaign, and so you default to issues that just should simply not be an issue,” Axios reports.
South Dakota’s John Thune, the Senate Republican whip, echoed similar sentiments, saying, “The campaign … needs to be about the issues … I just think that’s where the focus needs to be,” the Hill reports.
Meanwhile, Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, described the interview as a “hot mess”.
From the Democrat side, Senator Raphael Warnock told CNN, “This is who Donald Trump is. And he reminds us time and time again the only thing he knows is the politics of division and hatred.”
Illinois’s governor, JB Pritzker, widely considered as one of Harris’s top VP contenders, told the network that Trump’s comments “showed the racism coming through him”.
Arizona senator Mark Kelly, another top contender, said that Trump’s words were “overtly racist”, adding, “My first reaction was this is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, who is under consideration for VP, says Trump’s comments were “overtly racist.” “My first reaction was this is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man.” pic.twitter.com/MOufnbxeIA
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are neck to neck in five swing states, according to a new survey from Public Opinion Strategies, Politico reports.
In Pennsylvania, Harris leads Trump 48% to 45% while in Wisconsin, she leads him 48% to 46%.
In Arizona, Trump leads Harris 48% to 43% while in Nevada, Trump leads her 46% to 45%.
The two opponents are tied in Michigan at 45%.
According to the survey, 4% of the voters back third-party candidates and 4% are undecided. Additionally, the undecided voters lean Republican, with 47% of undecideds identifying as Republicans, compared to 19% who say they are Democrats.
In his interview with CNN following Donald Trump’s appearance at the NABJ conference, Arizona senator Mark Kelly hit back at the ex-president over his comments on Kamala Harris’s racial identity.
Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Kelly, who is widely considered to be a top contender among Harris’s vice-president picks, said:
[It is] very obvious to me watching him and just what I’ve seen over the last week while she’s been across the country just kicking his butt that he’s afraid. He’s probably afraid to debate her, he is certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November and he’s afraid about his own future.
He went on to add:
She’s got great momentum. She’s a fantastic historic candidate and who is he? He just convicted felon.
Trump's NABJ comments on Harris's racial identity trigger bipartisan criticism
Donald Trump’s questioning of Kamala Harris’s racial identity during his NABJ appearance yesterday has triggered criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike.
Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland, took to X and wrote: “It’s unacceptable and abhorrent to attack vice president Harris or anyone’s racial identity. The American people deserve better.”
It's unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity. The American people deserve better.
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) July 31, 2024
Alaska’s Republican senator Lisa Murkowski said, “Maybe they don’t know how to handle the campaign, and so you default to issues that just should simply not be an issue,” Axios reports.
South Dakota’s John Thune, the Senate Republican whip, echoed similar sentiments, saying, “The campaign … needs to be about the issues … I just think that’s where the focus needs to be,” the Hill reports.
Meanwhile, Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, described the interview as a “hot mess”.
From the Democrat side, Senator Raphael Warnock told CNN, “This is who Donald Trump is. And he reminds us time and time again the only thing he knows is the politics of division and hatred.”
Illinois’s governor, JB Pritzker, widely considered as one of Harris’s top VP contenders, told the network that Trump’s comments “showed the racism coming through him”.
Arizona senator Mark Kelly, another top contender, said that Trump’s words were “overtly racist”, adding, “My first reaction was this is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, who is under consideration for VP, says Trump’s comments were “overtly racist.” “My first reaction was this is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man.” pic.twitter.com/MOufnbxeIA
Unfazed Harris describes Trump's questioning of her race as 'divisiveness' and 'disrespect'
Good morning,
Following Donald Trump’s combative appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference on Wednesday where he questioned Kamala Harris’s racial identity, the vice-president called Trump’s behavior “the same old show”.
Speaking at a rally in Houston, Harris appeared unfazed, saying: “It was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better.”
Harris’s husband, the second gentleman, Douglas Emhoff, has also responded to Trump’s comments, saying: “We’ve got to focus on what they’re really trying to do, which is to destroy our country.”
As Trump ramps up his attack on the vice-president, Harris is expected to announce her running mate by next Tuesday. Speculation over her finalists include the swing state Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, and the Arizona senator Mark Kelly.
Here are other developments in US politics:
Harris is set to deliver a eulogy for the late Texas Democratic representative Sheila Jackson Lee in Houston at 2.20pm ET.
The former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said doctors voiced their concern for Trump’s mental health to her in 2019, saying there was something “seriously wrong”, according to her new book.
The supreme court is set to take on several major education issues including Joe Biden’s student debt program and transgender policies in its next term, the Hill reports.
