Expects lies, dirty tactics: Harris on Trump's birther attacks

Indian-American Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has said that President Donald Trump and his campaign will "engage in lies" and "dirty tactics" to distract from the real issues that are impacting the American people.

She was responding to President Trump's promotion of the conspiracy theories about her eligibility to serve as the vice president and president.

On Saturday, Trump said that he would not be "pursuing" questions about Harris' eligibility, but did not dismiss the conspiracy theories as false.

Trump on Thursday said he heard on "social media" that Harris could be ineligible.

"I heard today that she doesn't meet the requirements," Trump said, referring to John Eastman, the lawyer and Chapman University professor who raised the issue in a Newsweek op-ed, as "very highly qualified."

Responding to Trump's remarks, Harris, 55, told the American news website TheGrio on Sunday that the president and his campaign will engage in deception.

"They're going to engage in lies. They're going to engage in deception. They're going to engage in an attempt to distract from the real issues that are impacting the American people. And I expect that they will engage in dirty tactics. And this is going to be a knockdown, drag-out. And we're ready," she said.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden scripted history on Wednesday by selecting Harris, an Indian-American and an African-American, as his running mate in the election on November 3.

Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California Senator Harris, if elected, would be the first woman vice president ever for the country.

"What's at stake right now is that we've had over 160,000 people die in the last few months and many of them needlessly … tens of millions of people who have lost their jobs … we're in the midst of a hunger crisis in our country. The media isn't covering it so much," she said.

"I'm prepared to fight because this is a fight that is for something, not against something. This is a fight for where we need to be … We need to focus on what can be unburdened by what has been,” Harris said.

Harris is no stranger to accusations about her race.

During the Democratic presidential primary, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., retweeted then deleted a critic who said, "Kamala Harris is *not* an American Black. She is half Indian and half Jamaica."

Harris' campaign slammed the attacks at the time, saying the same tactics were used against Obama.

"It didn't work then and it won't work now," Harris' campaign communications director told CNN in June 2019.

Harris told TheGrio that she wants Black communities to be hyper-aware of attempts to suppress their votes.

"You may not fall in love with who you're voting for. We have to be heard and not let them stop us or prevent us or deter us from exercising our voices and making sure our voice is strong in this election," she said.

"Nothing that we have ever achieved that has been about progress has come without a fight," she added.