Former US President Donald Trump reportedly has used a slur often targeted at women to describe Vice President Kamala Harris during at least two private conversations. His campaign denies it. The New York Times cited two people who, on different occasions, heard Trump call Harris a "b——." The people were granted anonymity to describe private discussions. In response, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, "That is not language President Trump has used to describe Kamala and it’s not how the campaign would characterise her."
Trump, a Republican, has a history of making derogatory statements about women and his political opponents. He has called Harris, the Democrats' presidential candidate, and other women, including 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, "nasty," and he bragged about grabbing women's genitalia in the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape. He called Carly Fiorina, one of his rivals for the Republican nomination in 2016, “horseface” during a campaign debate. Last month, Trump said falsely that Harris, who is Black and of Asian descent, has misled voters about her race.
Trump has said that E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused him of raping her, was a “nut job” who invented “a fraudulent and false story” to sell a memoir. A New York jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape, in a civil case filed by Carroll. Trump has also directed disparaging comments toward men. He branded former rivals Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida “liddle Marco,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas “lyin' Ted” and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida “low energy Jeb.”
Is she black or Indian?: Donald Trump questions Kamala Harris' racial identity
Earlier last week, Trump launched a racially insensitive attack on Harris by questioning whether she is "Indian or Black", drawing a sharp reaction from his Democratic rival who termed his remarks "the same old show" of "divisiveness" and "disrespect". Trump's controversial remarks came as the race for the November 5 presidential election gained momentum with opinion polls showing that Vice President Harris, abruptly thrust into the role of presidential candidate fewer than 10 days ago, has narrowed the gap with her Republican rival.
Trump, 78, falsely claimed Harris had only emphasised her Asian-American heritage until recently when, he said, "she became a black person" for political gain. “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 said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday.
"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 said during a tense appearance at the conference, where the audience at times gasped and scoffed at his remarks.
"So I don't know - Is she Indian? Or is she black?" Trump asked. Harris’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was Indian and her father, Donald Jasper Harris, is Jamaican; both immigrated to the US.
(With inputs from agency)
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