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[Text/Ruan Jiaqi, Observer Network]

Trump, who never stops making shocking remarks, caused an uproar in the audience with another sentence.

On the afternoon of July 31, local time, at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention held in Chicago, Trump claimed that he only knew that Harris, who is of Indian descent, was black a few years ago, suggesting that she suddenly decided to "become black" in order to gain political benefits, and accused her of misleading voters on racial issues. This remark quickly drew a counterattack from Harris and condemnation from a White House spokesman.

US media analyzed that although such shocking and controversial remarks are common in Trump's campaign, Harris' identity as a woman of color is a perfect factor for him to attract black votes in the United States, which is bound to cause Trump considerable trouble.

Trump: Harris "happened" to be black a few years ago, and this should be investigated

It was one of the event hosts, ABC's Rachel Scott, who brought up the topic when she asked Trump if he thought it was acceptable for Republicans to refer to Harris as a "DEI employee."

According to US media, DEI is the abbreviation of the "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" initiative, which aims to increase the number of women and people of color in the workforce to address long-standing unfairness and discrimination. Republicans say that Harris became the Democratic presidential candidate entirely because of her identity as a black woman, not because of her ability.

Trump did not answer the question directly, but turned to discuss Harris's race. He said: "I have known her for a long time, but only indirectly. She has always been of Indian descent, and she only advertised her Indian descent. I didn't know she was black until she happened to become black a few years ago. Now she wants to be called black. So I don't know if she is Indian or black?" There were sporadic laughter in the audience.

Scott tried to interject, stressing that Harris had always identified herself as black and had attended a historically black university. But Trump ignored her and continued: "I respect either of them, but she obviously doesn't. Because she's always been Indian, and then all of a sudden she's a black person. I think someone should look into this." The audience laughed even louder.

"I really don't know." Trump then hinted that not all successful black women were promoted through the so-called "DEI" method. He looked at another host from Fox News on the stage, who was also named Harris Faulkner, "I know that lady over there, Harris, is a very good person."

Just a few hours after the event, Trump posted an old video of Harris teaching Indian recipes on his own social media platform "Truth Social", continuing to attack her racial identity: "Crazy Kamala said she is Indian, not black. This is a big deal. Heartless liar, she took advantage of everyone, including her racial identity!"

The Associated Press also mentioned that before a campaign rally in Pennsylvania later that day, Trump's team played an old news report on the big screen at the venue, describing Harris as "the first Indian-American senator." Trump also called Harris' name wrong several times during his speech.

According to US media reports, Harris' mother is from India and his father is from Jamaica. Both are American immigrants. Harris was born in California.

Afterwards, the pro-Democratic American media CNN quickly released a fact-checking report, hastily refutating the errors in Trump's statement and listing a bunch of Harris' experiences since college to emphasize that she did not "suddenly" identify herself as black. Decades before she became a presidential candidate, Harris had already accepted and discussed her black identity while also respecting her South Asian ancestry.

Trump's racial remarks against Harris also drew immediate condemnation from the White House. According to The Washington Post, Trump was attending the convention while the White House was holding a briefing. Hearing Trump's remarks relayed by reporters, White House press secretary Jean-Pierre couldn't hide his surprise and said "wow" and then laughed.

"As a person of color, as a black woman in this situation... what you just read to me is disgusting, it's insulting. No one has the right to tell someone else who they are and how they identify," she responded. "I would also add that only she can tell her own story."

Gregory Meeks, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, condemned in a statement that Trump was using the largest conference of black journalists to publicly question Harris's identity as a black woman and insult her intelligence, "which is a great offense to black voters across the country."

That evening, Harris spoke in Houston for the historic black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho, saying Trump's performance at the NABJ conference was the same old thing, "full of division and disrespect," according to the Wall Street Journal.

"The American people deserve better," she said. "The American people deserve a leader who speaks the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands our differences and who does not divide us, but who is a vital source of our strength."

Harris' campaign did not respond to Trump's accusations individually, but instead escalated the topic to criticize his attacks on the entire black community.

Earlier, Harris' communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement, "Trump's personal attacks and insults against black journalists are consistent with what he has done throughout his presidency - he has failed black families and put the entire country in trouble." "Trump has proven that he can't unite America, so he's trying to divide us."

"Harris's status as a woman of color will cause trouble for Trump"

Many US media have mentioned that Trump's remarks at this convention, which has attracted the attention of the black community, shocked the audience from time to time. After Trump claimed to be "the most friendly president to the black community since Lincoln", some people directly protested and scolded Trump, "Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Black voters have always been the most loyal voter group of the Democratic Party, and Biden won the support of 90% of black voters in the 2020 election. The Wall Street Journal believes that Trump's campaign was encouraged after earlier polls showed that black men's support for Biden began to weaken, but Biden's withdrawal from the election and support for Harris has shaken the election situation, and people of color and young voters are showing enthusiasm for Harris.

Trump's appearance at the NABJ conference is part of a broader effort to win over black voters, and his performance in Chicago showcased his preference for personal attacks rather than outlining policy measures that Republicans want to highlight.

CNN said that Trump's remarks against Harris were reminiscent of similar attacks on his black political opponents in the past, including the "birther" conspiracy theory he has been promoting for years. Former President Obama and Republican Nikki Haley were both attacked by him for not being born in the United States.

Time magazine pointed out that this move is not surprising for Trump. After all, since he first started participating in the general election in 2015, he has frequently used such racially charged remarks in his campaign to incite the white nationalist base among his supporters. Trump's performance at the Chicago conference is consistent with his usual style. But this also indicates that if Trump continues to maintain this tone, it may be difficult to attract black voters in the next three months.

Politico also said the interview exposed the difficulties the Republican nominee may face in expanding his electorate, having to confront a woman of color while not engaging in misogynistic and racist invective.

According to the New York Times, the conference was not smooth. It started more than an hour later than originally planned and ended abruptly after only half an hour. ABC host Scott said that the early end of the conference was a request from the Trump campaign team, but according to Trump, he believed that he was treated unfairly at the conference.

The meeting was tense from the beginning. Scott began by aggressively questioning Trump, asking why black voters should support him, given his history of attacking members of color, black journalists, and black prosecutors and other racist remarks. Trump was not to be outdone, calling the question "appalling," "hostile," and "humiliating."

"I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible way. Are you from ABC? I think they are a fake news network, a bad network." Trump also retorted, "I love the black people in this country, and I have done a lot for the black people in this country. For the African-American population, I am the best president for black people since Lincoln."

US media mentioned that in subsequent meetings, Trump criticized Scott many times, and even when answering other people's questions, he did not forget to say, "She (Scott) is very rude."

Trump was also upset that NABJ did not allow him to attend the meeting online. He complained on "Truth Social" that when he arrived in Chicago, he was told that Harris refused to attend the event and planned to participate in the event via ZOOM video conference. He was so angry that he shouted, "What the hell is going on?!"

However, the Wall Street Journal quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that NABJ rejected Harris' request. NABJ President Ken Lemon revealed on Wednesday that the two sides are coordinating to postpone the Q&A session to September.

"The event was delayed for an hour and a half due to technical issues. It was not me who was late!" "These issues were rude, but we managed!" "ABC fake news, one of the worst in the United States"... Long after the event ended, Trump was still cursing on the Internet.

"The bias and rude treatment of some hostile media figures today will have a huge backlash," said a senior adviser to his campaign team in response to US media.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.