Hogan Slams Trump Over NABJ’s Racial Comments: ‘The American People Deserve Better’

Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R) took a subtle dig at former President Trump on Wednesday after the GOP nominee questioned Vice President Harris’ racial identity during a combative interview at the Maryland Senate conference. National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.

“It is unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity,” Hogan said., the former governor of Maryland, wrote Wednesday night on social media platform X, without naming the former president. “The American people deserve better.”

During the event, Trump apparently mocked Harris because of her heritage. Asked about Republicans’ claim that the vice president was a “DEI contractor” – referring to diversity, equity and inclusion – the former president responded that Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, “happened to turn out to be black.” in the last years.

“So I’ve known her for a long time, indirectly, not very directly, and she’s always been of Indian heritage and was just promoting Indian heritage,” Trump told the crowd.

“I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she became black, and now she wants to be known as black,” he added. “So, I don’t know, is she Indian or black?”

ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott then interjected, saying that Harris has “always identified as a black woman.”

Trump continued, calling Scott’s tone “hostile” and “nasty.”

“But you know what, I respect any of them. But she obviously doesn’t want to,” he said. “Because she was Indian all along, then all of a sudden she took a turn and became a person of color. And I think someone should look into this.”

The vice president’s mother emigrated from India and his father emigrated from Jamaica. She also attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C., where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Democrats and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre immediately responded to the comments, describing their responses as “disgusting” and “insulting.”

Hogan has emerged as one of the Republican Party’s most vocal critics in recent years, although Trump said in June that he would like to see the former governor win.

The former governor tried to distance himself from the former president as he sought the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D) in deep blue Maryland. He even released an ad in which he discussed his independence from Trump.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

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