ABC’s George Stephanopoulos confronted U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) during an episode of “This Week,” accusing him of using a “slur” regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity.
The exchange began when Donalds discussed former President Trump’s comments at a conference for black journalists, where Trump criticized Harris for her identity politics.
When Donalds attempted to shift the focus to more substantive issues, Stephanopoulos pressed him about questioning Harris’s racial identity, reiterating that she identifies as a black woman with Jamaican and Indian heritage.
U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds did a smackdown on George Stephanopoulos on live TV. Today I met him in person to say thank you. pic.twitter.com/0pJpAkovBS
— Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) August 6, 2024
“And you just repeated the slur again. If it doesn’t matter, why do you all keep questioning her identity? She’s always identified as a black woman. She is biracial. She has a Jamaican father and Indian mother. She’s always identified as both. Why are you questioning that?” Stephanopoulos asked.
Donalds argued that discussions about her identity are prevalent on social media and emphasized the need to focus on her political record, describing her tenure as vice president as a failure.
“Well, George, first of all, this is something that’s actually a conversation throughout social media right now. There are a lot of people who are trying to figure this out. But again, that’s a side issue, not the main issue,” Donalds said.
“Sir, one second, you just did it, you just did it again. Why do you insist on questioning her racial identity?” Stephanopoulos pressed.
“He talked about it on the stage yesterday in Atlanta for what, two minutes? He spent more than 35-40 minutes going after her record, talking about how radical of a senator that she was. She was the most liberal senator in the United States, in the United States Senate. That is a fact. He talked about the job that she did as vice president of the United States, a job I will add, which has been a failure for the American people,” Donalds said.
