Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made a controversial appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention (NABJ) and his comments were even moreso contentious.

Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity, saying she "happened to turn Black" to a room of Black media in Chicago.

US President Donald Trump
Donald Trump steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey en route Bedminster, New Jersey on July 19, 2019. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

"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," Trump, 78, said. "Is she Indian or is she Black? Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person."

During the 30-minute Q&A session, Trump addressed various issues critical to the Black community, including the recent fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, abortion access, and his decision to select Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.

Kamala Harris Launches Presidential Campaign In Her Hometown Of Oakland
OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 27: Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks to her supporters during her presidential campaign launch rally in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on January 27, 2019, in Oakland, California. Twenty thousand people turned out to see the Oakland native launch her presidential campaign in front of Oakland City Hall. (Photo by Mason Trinca/Getty Images)

Trump's statements were met with boos, groans, and heckling from the audience.

He also clashed with one of the interviewers, Rachel Scott, when she asked him why Black voters should trust him amid his insulting comments about the community.

"I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. A first question. You don't even say, 'Hello, how are you,' " Trump answered. "Are you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. I've done so much for the Black population of this country."

(Interview starts at the 1:13:00 hour mark.)

Harris, 59, responded to Trump's comments during a speech in Houston later that night. Speaking at an event for Sigma Gamma Rho, a historically Black sorority, Harris said, "It was the same old show — the divisiveness and the disrespect."

"And let me just say: The American people deserve better," she added. "The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us."

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Kamala Harris, 2024 Presidential election