Politics

GOP Senate Candidate Denounces Trump’s Racial Rant About Kamala Harris

‘ABHORRENT’

“The American people deserve better,” said Larry Hogan, a Republican Senate candidate from Maryland.

Former Maryland governor and and Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan speaks during a campaign event at the VFW Post 9619 on July 16, 2024.
Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Larry Hogan, a Republican Senate candidate from Maryland, took Donald Trump to task Wednesday evening over the former president’s comments at a National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. Trump at one point claimed that his Democratic opponent, vice president Kamala Harris, who is biracial, decided to “turn black.” ​​“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said. “I didnt 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?” The comments sparked a firestorm of controversy, prompting Hogan to speak out against Trump—albeit without mentioning his name directly. “Its unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity,” he wrote on X. “The American people deserve better.” Hogan, a moderate, was the governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023 and emerged as a critic of Donald Trump during both of his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020.