Maggie Haberman reveals internal debate within Trump campaign after his racial attack on Kamala Harris

WASHINGTON, DC: CNN political analyst and New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman has revealed that while individuals close to former President Donald Trump regret his comments regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’s race, there appears to be little resistance to his stance on the matter.

This week, Trump stirred controversy at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago over his remarks about Harris.

Trump's controversial comments on Harris' race spark limited internal pushback among allies

During his appearance, he made a baseless assertion that Harris had only recently "happened to turn Black," despite her prior emphasis on her Indian heritage. He questioned, “So, I don’t know. Is she Indian or is she Black?”

On Friday’s edition of CNN's 'AC360', guest host John King engaged Haberman in a discussion about the situation. 

“He does have a history sometimes of letting his personal instincts take over when it’s a ‘strong woman,’ when questions of race come up,” he said. “What is the debate internally?”

“So, it’s less of a debate internally than we’ve seen previously, John,” Haberman replied.

“I keep thinking back to 2020 when there were protests over the killing of George Floyd and Trump posted on Twitter, a line, I’m paraphrasing, but it was, ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ And it was echoing a racist Miami police chief from decades earlier. There was there was an outcry inside the White House and a lot of consternation among his aides.”

Haberman elaborated on Trump’s current approach, stating, “What you saw here when he was at the NABJ conference earlier this week, and he said something that he’s been trying to inject into the bloodstream for a week, which is questioning the idea that Kamala Harris is really Black. You know, his team rose right behind him and echoed it and posted about it on Twitter. And there was something shown on the screen at his rally in Pennsylvania a short time later. So, there’s not much of a debate. There is some private concession from some people close to him that this is something they wish he hadn’t said. But there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of fighting him on this one.”

Conservative pushback over Trump's line of attack against Kamala Harris

In response to Donald Trump's attacks on Kamala Harris' racial identity, some conservatives have pushed back. GOP lawmakers have urged a shift back to policy discussions, advising against focusing on identity.

Fox News commentator Jesse Watters criticized Trump's claim that Harris had recently changed her racial identity for political gain, stating, “Most of us wouldn’t have gone in there and gone, ‘Who is Kamala Harris?’ Is she Indian? Well, she’s Jamaican, too. Not something I would have done.”

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren echoed this sentiment, advising the Trump campaign to move away from race-based criticisms. She argued, “Discussing the presumptive Democratic Party nominee’s race is a losing strategy” and urged Republicans to focus on Harris' policy record instead.

Meanwhile, some GOP lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have called for a return to policy-focused debates, advocating against identity-driven attacks.

Diverse reactions to Trump's remarks on Harris

Reactions to recent comments and controversies involving former President Donald Trump have been varied and expressive.

One user wrote, "Quite frankly most Americans are just tired of seeing Trumps fat face and hearing his effeminate whining."

Another user said, "Maybe if he had ever done anything good for America."

One user commented, "That would be lying propaganda."

Another replied, "Wait till they hear Kamala get nasally."

One said, "They are not called MAGArbages for nothing..."

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