(NewsNation) — After former President Donald Trump alleged that Vice President Kamala Harris had never identified as both Black and Indian at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, the Democratic nominee’s racial identity has been the subject of scrutiny.
“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. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said during the NABJ interview.
Harris has, in fact, acknowledged her biracial background. The daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother, Harris attended a historically Black university. Professionally, she was also a member of both the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus, according to FactCheck.org reporting.
Sage Steele, host of “The Sage Steele Show,” thinks Harris’ race is a topic that needs to be put to bed.
“Most Americans don’t care. It’s about your policies. And I just wish that we could get away from that, and that Donald Trump would get away from that, as well,” the former ESPN anchor told “On Balance with Leland Vittert.”
Steele blamed not only Republican pundits for spreading that rhetoric, but the Associated Press and other notable media outlets, claiming they write about her using the phrases “Indian American and then Black, African American, biracial.”
Steele also wants to veer away from phrases such as “the Black vote,” telling NewsNation it creates a monolith out of a dynamic voting base.
“Just because of the color of our skin doesn’t mean that we think the same, vote the same, marry the same, act the same, believe the same,” Steele said. “And I get frustrated with that, but trust me, it’s everybody” in media using the phrase.