Indian-origin US Senator Kamala Harris, one of the Democrats bidding for the 2020 Presidential run, was targeted online over her racial identity.
Harris, 54, who was born in the United States to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, was the subject of several social media posts calling her “not an American Black” that were later re-tweeted by Donald Trump Jr.
The Senator from California spoke out against and challenged the perpetrators of the birtherism-like attack, labelled as such across the US media.
‘Birtherism’, promoted by some Republicans including current President Donald Trump, was a movement that denied that then-President Barack Obama was a natural-born US citizen, implying he was ineligible to be President.
The viral tweet in question was posted by right-wing personality Ali Alexander, who has also gone by the name Ali Akbar.
“Kamala Harris is *not* an American Black. She is half Indian and half Jamaican,” the critic, who identifies as African-American, tweeted. “I’m so sick of people robbing American Blacks [like myself] of our history. It’s disgusting. Now using it for debate time at #DemDebate2? These are my people not her people. Freaking disgusting,”.
The post was re-tweeted by President Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr, who later deleted it because of adverse reactions.
Lily Adams, the campaign communications director for Harris, dismissed the attack, explaining that people, including President Trump, used similar rhetoric to question Obama’s birthplace.
Harris officially launched her campaign in January for the US Presidential election next year.