Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R) took a subtle dig at former President Trump Wednesday, after the GOP nominee questioned Vice President Harris's racial identity during a combative interview at the National Association of Black Journalist's conference in Chicago.
"It's unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity," Hogan, the former Maryland governor, wrote Wednesday evening on social media platform X, without naming the former president. "The American people deserve better."
During the event, Trump seemingly mocked Harris over her heritage. Asked about Republicans' claim that the vice president was a "DEI hire" — referring to diversity, equity and inclusion — the former president replied that Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, "happened to turn Black” in recent years.
“So, I’ve known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump told the crowd.
“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,” he added. “So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott then interjected, saying Harris has "always identified as a Black woman."
Trump continued, calling Scott's tone "hostile" and "nasty."
“But you know what, I respect either one. But she obviously doesn’t," he said. "Because she was Indian all the way then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that."
The vice president's mother emigrated from India, and her 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 his answers as “repulsive” and “insulting.”
Hogan has emerged as one of his most vocal GOP critics over the last several years, though Trump said in June he would like to see the former governor win.
The former governor has attempted to distance himself from the former president as he pursues the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D) in deep-blue Maryland. He even launched an ad in which he discussed his independence from Trump.
The Hill reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.
