Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) attempted Wednesday to explain former President Donald Trump's questioning of Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity — but was hit with pushback from a journalist who wanted to know, "How can you fake your race?"
Vance faced this question during a press conference in Michigan as he made the case that Trump's much-criticized attacks on Harris' racial identity reflected broader concerns about her shifting politics.
"She pretends to be one thing when she's in front of one audience, she pretends to be something else when she's in front of another audience, and I think [Trump] was observing the basic foundational reality that Kamala Harris pretends to be something different depending on which audience she's speaking to," Vance said.
"She's a fake."
Vance told reporters that he was not concerned by Trump's remarks despite being the husband of an Indian-American woman and father of three biracial children.
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Last week Trump told attendees of the National Association of Black Journalists, "I did not 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."
This remark was met with gasps, boos and grumbles from the audience at the Chicago convention.
In Michigan Wednesday, Vance likened Harris to a reptile with the ability to change its skin color.
"I was not bothered at all by what President Trump said," Vance replied. "We know she's a chameleon."
This prompted the followup question, "If she's both Indian and Black, how can she fake her race?"
"She fakes who she is depending on the audience that she's in front of," Vance replied. "That's who she is and that's who she always has been."
Watch the exchange below or click here.
