Byron Donalds spars with CNN anchor over past Trump comment on Harris' race: 'This is gaslighting'

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said that former President Trump would be focusing on the issues Americans care about and not his opponent's race, during a tense clash with CNN anchor Boris Sanchez ahead of the ABC News Presidential Debate.

Sanchez pressed Donalds on whether Trump would accuse Harris of using her race to advance her political career, after Trump previously questioned Harris' racial identity at the National Association of Black Journalists ("NABJ") conference in July.

"He essentially said that she‘s sort of used her Blackness to advance her career, saying that he didn‘t even know that she was Black because she didn‘t put it out there. I‘m paraphrasing his remark there. She said in response that she invited him to say that to her face. Do you think Donald Trump might do that tonight?" he asked Donalds.

"No, because this is an issue nobody even really cares about," Donalds replied.

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"He mentioned it once. He hasn‘t mentioned it again. What Donald Trump is focused on is the American people," he continued, listing the economy, immigration and national security as key issues he would hone in on at the debate.

"Those are the things that he’s going to say to her face. He‘s not talking about her identity. Frankly, nobody is," he added. "She might try to bring it up, but that doesn‘t matter to the American people. It is one of the reasons why her support in this race might be broad, but it‘s an inch deep because she‘s not talking policy."

Sanchez told Donalds, "Respectfully, congressman, he was the one that brought it up initially, unprompted."

Donalds retorted, "Boris, you‘re wrong about that, but okay."

The CNN anchor