Trump said Harris was at a 'sorority party.' Indy speaking engagement wasn't a party

Donald Trump cited Vice President Kamala Harris’s recent visit to Indianapolis as an indication that “she hates Israel” during the presidential debate Tuesday .

The former U.S. president said that Harris skipped the address of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because “she was at a sorority party of hers.”

“She wouldn't even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She refused to be there because she was at a sorority party of hers. She wanted to go to the sorority party,” he said. “She hates Israel.”

Netanyahu made a speech to a joint session of the US Congress on July 24.

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Why was Kamala Harris in Indianapolis?

It’s typical for vice presidents typically to preside over sessions involving world leaders, but Harris was in Indianapolis at that time to speak at the Zeta Phi Beta Soriority Inc. national convention. It was an engagement scheduled before the Israeli leader announced his visit to Washington and before President Joe Biden announced he would drop his re-election bid and back Harris for president.

What is Zeta Phi Beta?

Zeta Phi Beta is a social service organization in 1920, among the largest historically Black Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities. Its July 23-28 convention at the Indiana Convention Center drew about 6,000 people.

During its convention, the 104-year-old Zeta Phi Beta worked on programs and initiatives to promote education, decrease health disparities and raise awareness around important issues facing women. The meeting amplified social, health and economic justice.

Harris did meet with Netanyahu in Washington the day after his address to Congress.

Speaking engagement was not a 'sorority party'

Trump was mistaken about the Zeta conference, called the Grand Boule, being “her sorority party.”

Kamala Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, another historically Black sorority. She’d addressed that organization’s national convention in Dallas two weeks before the Zeta meeting.

Both Zeta Phi Beta and Alpha Kappa Alpha are members of the Divine Nine , and prioritize community service.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X: @cherylvjackson .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trump said Harris was at a 'sorority party.' Indy speaking engagement wasn't a party