Republican Rep. Byron Donald of Florida on Sunday got into a spat with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos over Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity.

Former President Donald Trump claimed last week at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) 2024 Conference in Chicago, Illinois that he didn't know Harris was black until a few years ago because of her Indian descent. Donald pushed back against Stephanopoulos' question about Trump's comments, claiming that Harris' race has been “exaggerated” over the years.

“First of all, George, in Chicago he was answering a question from Rachel Scott, I believe. This is a real fake controversy. I don't really care about it, and most people don't care about it,” Donald said. “But to be precise, when Kamala Harris became a U.S. senator, the Associated Press [News] “She's been billed as the first Indian-American senator in the United States. When she first came to the senate, she was actually quite emphatic, but now she's campaigning nationally. It's clearly changed the tack of the campaign.”

“People are talking a lot more about her paternal heritage and her black identity. That's not a big deal, the president has mentioned that. What the president has been talking about more is the fact that Kamala Harris is the one who has created this massive inflation that is destroying black families, white families, Hispanic families,” Donald continued, blaming Harris for her failures on the border and elsewhere.

Stephanopoulos continued to press Donald about why the congressman and President Trump asked further questions about Senator Harris' background, emphasizing that she has always “identified” as being of mixed race, with an Indian mother and Jamaican father. (Related: Trump's interview with the National Association of Black Journalists was a complete flop)

“George, first of all, this is something that's really been talked about all over social media right now. There's a lot of people trying to figure this out, but again, that's a side issue, it's not the main issue. The main issue is…” Donald began.

“Wait a second. You just did it. You just did it again!” Stephanopoulos exclaimed. “Why do you insist on questioning her racial identity?”

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The two continued their discussion, with Donald reiterating that when Harris was elected to the California Senate, the Associated Press ran an article highlighting her Indian origins.

“George, actually, it's not me who's repeating that. George, it's you who's bringing it up now,” Donald said.

“You've done it three times. Every answer you've given me – let's get this over with, judge! Every answer you've given me has been a reiteration of the slur,” Stephanopoulos said.

Mr Donald and Mr Stephanopoulos could be heard talking over each other before the ABC host accused Mr Donald of not saying that what Mr Trump said was “wrong”.

“So what you're saying, I want to get off topic, because this is not the only incident. George, you're now saying that the Associated Press slandered Kamala Harris? That's a fact. You can go watch the clips on the Internet, and, George, we can talk about this now if you want,” Donald said. “I want to talk about the future of this country because the American people are suffering. The American people need serious policy decisions, they need serious leadership on the world stage. Kamala Harris hasn't proven she can do that yet. Donald J. Trump has proven she can do that.”

“The Associated Press never said Kamala Harris is not black. She is mixed race. She is Indian and she is black. You continue to repeat that fact and repeat the smear. I don't understand why you and the president would do that. But you wouldn't say it's wrong and you've proven that to your viewers,” Stephanopoulos said.

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