Source: Tierney L. Cross / Getty
Congressman Byron Donalds’ attack on Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity was debunked in an ABC interview, and social media took note.
On Sunday (August 4), Florida Republican congressman Byron Donalds appeared on ABC’s This Week. In the interview with host George Stephanopolous, Donalds dismissed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s attacks on the racial identity of Vice President Kamala Harris at his turbulent appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists. “This is really a phony controversy,” Donalds said. “I don’t really care, most people don’t, but if we’re going to be accurate, when Kamala Harris went into the United States Senate, it was AP that said she was the Indian-American United States senator. It was actually played up a lot,” he continued.
Stephanopoulos fired back: “And you just repeated the slur again. If it doesn’t matter,” Stephanopoulos then asked Donalds, “why do you all keep questioning her identity? She’s always identified as a black woman. She is biracial. She has a Jamaican father and Indian mother. She’s always identified as both. Why are you questioning that?” Donalds, a very loyal ally to Trump claimed it was a hot topic on “social media” before replying: “There are a lot of people who are trying to figure this out, but again, that’s a side issue, not the main issue,” to which Stephanopoulos interjected. “You just did it again. Why do you insist on questioning her racial identity?”
The contentious interview continued with cross-talk from both men, as Donalds repeated his assertion. “Every single time you repeat the slur,” Stephanopoulos countered. “That’s exactly my point.
You continue to repeat [Trump’s] slur, but it’s clear you’re not gonna say that’s wrong and you’ve now established that for our audience.” Donalds then abruptly conceded, “Let’s move on.”
The exchange between the two caught the attention of many on social media, with many noting Donalds’ zeal in repeating Trump’s accusations. One individual named A to the Z Amber commented on X, formerly Twitter, “Oh it matters to the American people that the Republican party are a bunch of racists, George is pointing it out and he’s deflecting.” That point was underscored by This Week panelist and former Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile, who
said Trump’s attacks were similar to ones made against former President Barack Obama. “This is an old playbook. America’s tired of this playbook,” she remarked.
Check out more reactions to Donalds’ interview below.
