A group of Black male voters in Pennsylvania expressed doubts about Vice President Kamala Harris's race before Trump's comments.
CNN's Michael Smerconish aired a clip from CBS reporter Joel D. Smith. Smith spoke with Black voters at a barbershop about Harris.
"Is Kamala gonna make you more likely to vote Democrat?" Smith asked.
One man responded, "Greg, hold on. Is Kamala Black, yes or no?"
"I’ll let her speak on that, but to me, no," Greg replied.
The man then asked the others, getting similar responses.
"I share that same view," one said.
"I heard she’s half Black and half Asian," another added.
Smerconish noted he received feedback that these men don't represent the Black community.
"Callers said those men were exceptions, not the rule," Smerconish reported.
He mentioned the clip was recorded before Trump's NABJ appearance. Trump questioned Harris's racial background.
"She was always Indian, now she’s Black," Trump said.
Trump’s remarks faced backlash.
"To attack someone’s ‘Blackness’ is disrespectful," NAACP President Derrick Johnson wrote.
"Republicans usually avoid our conventions. Why now? To discredit Harris?" NABJ member Justice B. Hill questioned.