Fact Check: AP Headlines Called Harris Indian American in 2016, Black in 2020?

Claim:

Associated Press headlines referred to Kamala Harris as Indian American in 2016 then Black in 2020.

Rating:

True ( About this rating? )

Context:

Harris is both Indian and Black. Her father, Donald J. Harris, is a Black man from Jamaica. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in Chennai, India. Harris was the first Black person and first Indian-American U.S. senator for California — and the first Indian-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Then in 2020, she became the first Black woman and the first Indian-American vice presidential nominee in U.S. history.

On July 24, 2024, an apparent screen capture of a post from former U.S. President Donald Trump circulated online showing two alleged Associated Press (AP) headlines, one from 2016 and the other from 2020. The two headlines centered on Vice President Kamala Harris. The first one said Harris was the first "Indian-American US senator" while the second said she was the first "Black woman" nominated as a presidential candidate's running mate ( archived ):

The post had gained 4.5 million views as of this writing, as well as 131,000 likes and 30,000 reshares. In the replies, people reacted with exasperation. "The Democrats love to change things up to suit their needs," one wrote. "It is amazing how the narrative changes with time," another said. A third asked: "So you can change your race depending on the situation?"

The headlines were real.

Trump posted this on Truth Social a few minutes before the X post ( archived ):

We confirmed that the headlines were authentic. On Nov. 9, 2016, AP posted a story titled, " California's Kamala Harris becomes first Indian-American US Senator " ( archived ). Nearly four years later, on Aug. 11, 2020, AP reported " Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate, first Black woman " ( archived ).

Despite Trump's implication that the headlines were contradictory, they were not.

Harris' parents, who met when they were studying at the University of California, Berkeley, came from different backgrounds. Her father Donald J. Harris, a former professor of economics at Stanford University , is a Black man from Jamaica . Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was born in Chennai, India . Both of them became naturalized U.S. citizens and their daughter was born in the U.S. , which means she was a U.S. citizen at birth.

While there had been Black U.S. senators before Harris, no Indian-American had ever been elected to the Senate: This is the fact that the AP sought to underscore in 2016. Later, in 2020, she became the first Black female and first Indian-American vice presidential nominee in history.

Sources:

'Biden Picks Kamala Harris as Running Mate, First Black Woman'. AP News , 12 Aug. 2020, https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-top-news-race-and-ethnicity-ca-state-wire-5ac8fff8bbe1c70479604e3ff62ecb10. Donald J. Harris | Department of Economics . https://economics.stanford.edu/people/donald-j-harris. Accessed 25 July 2024. Ibrahim, Nur. 'Yes, Harris Can Run for US President Even Though Her Parents Are Foreign-Born'. Snopes , 22 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/harris-presidential-campaign-foreign-born-parents/. Igoe, Katherine J., and Danielle Campoamor last updated in News. 'Getting to Know Kamala Harris' Father, a Renowned Stanford Professor'. Marie Claire Magazine , 19 Jan. 2021, https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a28259825/who-is-donald-harris-kamala-harris-father/. Kamala Harris: The Tiny Indian Village Claiming Her as Its Own . https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9037j47pyzo. Accessed 25 July 2024. Press, Associated. 'California's Kamala Harris Becomes First Indian-American US Senator'. Business Insider , https://www.businessinsider.com/californias-kamala-harris-becomes-first-indian-american-us-senator-2016-11. Accessed 25 July 2024. Tabasko, Michael. 'A Fortuitous Connection'. The NIH Catalyst , https://irp.nih.gov/catalyst/29/4/a-fortuitous-connection. U.S. Senate: African American Senators . https://www.senate.gov/senators/african-american-senators.htm. Accessed 25 July 2024.