Chuck Schumer calls Kamala Harris a 'strong Black woman' whom Trump is scared to debate

WASHINGTON — A day after former President Donald Trump falsely said Kamala Harris only recently “became Black,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck back Thursday and defended the vice president as “a strong Black woman” whom Trump is scared to debate.

“Every day either Donald Trump or [running mate JD] Vance make some kind of crazy statement, and it’s catching up to the American people. The more his poll numbers go down, the more Donald Trump is unhinged, and he’s afraid to debate even Kamala Harris,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in an interview right before the Senate left town for its five-week summer recess.

“She’s a strong Black woman — Donald Trump may not want to say that, but it’s true, and everyone knows it’s true,” he added. “He’s afraid to debate her.”

It’s a line Harris, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee and former senator from California, has been using herself on the campaign trail, saying Trump is too afraid to debate her. “If you got something to say, say it to my face,” she said at a raucous campaign rally in Atlanta this week.

Trump and President Joe Biden had agreed to participate in a second debate on Sept. 10, hosted by ABC. But after Biden dropped out on July 21 and Harris jumped in the race, Trump has appeared to back away from the deal. He called ABC “fake news” and said he prefers friendlier Fox News to host the debate.

The same day he baselessly questioned Harris' racial identity, Trump also denigrated Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish American official, falsely calling him a “Palestinian” and a “proud member of Hamas." Trump and Hill Republicans have slammed Schumer for his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Trump suggesting that Schumer is a “bad Jew” and