Three of her grandparents were Amerindians, one was white. But many more voters are black, hence the change.

Former US President Donald Trump has ridiculed Vice President Kamala Harris for talking up her Indian heritage for years until she “all of a sudden…became a black person.” The White House lashed out at Trump in response, stating that the former president has no “right to tell someone who they are.”

Trump commented on Harris’ race during a combative panel interview at a National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago on Wednesday. Asked whether he considered Harris a “DEI hire” – someone hired for their race or gender, Trump replied that he thinks the situation “is maybe a little bit different.”

“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” he elaborated. “I didn’t know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?”