A 2020 interview of Vice President Kamala Harris agreeing that former President Donald Trump is a "racist" has resurfaced in the days since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed Harris to be his successor.
Harris, who is of Tamil Indian and Afro-Jamaican ancestry, was asked the following question by host Norah O'Donnell during an appearance that year on 60 Minutes:
"President Trump has attacked you recently. He's called you a monster. He has said that you're 'nasty' and would be 'an insult to our country' if you became the first female president. Do you feel this is just the rough and tumble of politics or do you view those attacks against you as racist?"
To that, Harris responded:
"Well, this is not the first time in my life I've been called names and it was predictable, sadly.
To which O'Donnell followed up:
"Do you think the President is racist?"
Harris responded:
"Yes, I do Yeah, I do."
""You can look back at a pattern questioning the identity of the first Black president of the United States. You can look at Charlottesville, where there were peaceful protesters and neo-Nazis on the other side and he talks about 'fine people' on either side."
"Calling Mexicans rapists and criminals? His first order of business was to introduce a Muslim ban? It all speaks for itself."
You can hear what Harris said in the video below.
Many agreed with Harris' assessment and stressed that Harris is more than ready to challenge Trump for the presidency.
Trump has long been accused of racial animus.
Well before he ever ran for the executive office, Trump was sued for housing discrimination based on race. His casino also lost a civil lawsuit for transferring Black card dealers off of tables to accommodate racist clients.
It should come as no surprise Trump was accused of harboring racial animus during his entire time in office. Trump also has a well-documented history of racism against Indigenous peoples.
Within days of being sworn in, Trump subjected people from seven Muslim-majority countries to a travel ban, earning the praise of Republicans who endorsed his proposal for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslim immigration to the United States.
Immigrants from non-White countries were made to feel unwelcome under his administration as a result of immigration architect and senior adviser Stephen Miller's draconian policies.
Trump often took aim at BIPOC migrants, particularly those crossing the nation's southern border, as "rapists" and targeted them under a "zero tolerance" family separation policy that was widely condemned by human rights groups.
Trump infamously suggested those from Haiti and African nations should not be allowed to immigrate to the United States because they come from "sh*thole countries."
While in office, Trump also made headlines after sources confirmed he once assumed a group of racially diverse Democratic staffers were waiters, referring to staffers of color for then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who served hors d’oeuvres at an event shortly after he assumed office.
During that same meeting, according to sources who spoke to New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman, Trump claimed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent during the 2016 presidential election, had won the popular vote only because of "illegals" who'd cast votes.
And, rather infamously, Trump for years promoted "birtherism," which doubted or denied former President Barack Obama was a United States citizen, implying he was ineligible for the nation's highest office. In fact, Obama was born in Hawaii to a U.S. citizen, making him a natural-born citizen.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram