Kevin McCarthy’s First Reaction to Trump Saying Harris Isn’t Black: ‘Oh No’
The former House speaker worried where Trump was going with his remarks about Kamala Harris but credits him for showing up at the NABJ meeting.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Donald Trump’s supporters are just like everyone else—wondering what the GOP presidential nominee is going to say next.
Even former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy admitted he was worried what Trump was going to say when he questioned Kamala Harris’ racial identity at a convention for Black journalists.
Asked about his initial reaction to Trump’s remarks, McCarthy said he thought: “Oh no, where are you going?”
McCarthy was appearing on Thursday’s edition of Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime when he was asked for his thoughts on the fallout after Trump was asked about Harris at a meeting of Black journalists and claimed: “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black.”
“So, I don’t know. Is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump added later.
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“When you saw that at yesterday’s Black journalist convention, did you think he’s going to lose votes because of that, or do you think it’s one of these things that’s going to blow over in a few days and it’s back to the races?” asked Watters.
“Well, at first, I go, ‘Oh no, where are you going?” said McCarthy. He didn’t expand on the comment but went on to praise Trump for attending the meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on Wednesday.
'Oh No, Where Are You Going?' Kevin McCarthy Recalls Initial Reaction to Trump's Comments About Kamala Harris https://t.co/9VzXjf97Eo
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) August 2, 2024
“But when you say to look at it, Kamala was invited and she didn’t show,” he continued. “He will go anywhere. And the great thing about President Trump is he’s the same person in the front than he is behind. And he’ll tell it exactly how he sees it.”
Harris has Indian and Jamaican-born parents and attended the historically Black Howard University. She joined the Senate’s Congressional Black Caucus in 2017.
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Harris said the “American people deserve better” and that it was the “same old show” of “divisiveness and disrespect.”
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