The hashtag “#WhenITurnedBlack” is trending online following former President Donald Trump’s combative sit-down with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), during which he questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ ethnic background and racial identity. In response, Black X users took to social media to mock his remarks.
“One thing Black people gonna do is take nonsense and turn into a creative comeback #wheniturnedblack,” one Black X user wrote in response to the hashtag, which is comprised of Black Twitter users sharing the fictional moment they realized they are Black. The jokes started swarming in almost immediately after Trump made the comment at the Chicago convention on Wednesday.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said onstage. “I respect either one. But obviously she doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went, she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that.”
“We now know Kamala’s brave story,” comedian Roy Wood Jr. jokingly wrote in response, perhaps kicking off the trend in the process. “When did the rest of you ‘turn’ black? How old were you? Where were you when the blackness finally took over your body? Share your stories. This is a safe space. #WhenITurnedBlack.”
We now know Kamala’s brave story. When did the rest of you “turn” black? How old were you? Where were you when the blackness finally took over your body? Share your stories. This is a safe space. #WhenITurnedBlack pic.twitter.com/URBx3fqcbh
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) July 31, 2024
“I asked my mother out the womb if I could have McDonalds. She replied, ‘do you have McDonald’s money?’ That’s when I knew … #WhenITurnedBlack,” another Black X user wrote, referencing a long-running joke within the Black community.
I asked my mother out the womb if I could have McDonalds. She replied, “do you have McDonald’s money?” That’s when I knew… #WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/G6zYhQxQ0H
— Shem (@Shem) July 31, 2024
Following Trump’s initial viral comments, the Harris campaign issued a statement of their own.
“The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler wrote in a press statement. “Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency — while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in.”
And just as quickly as his “Black jobs” comment took off, which he also doubled down on during the sit-down, so did “turned Black.” Check out some the reactions, below:
I remember it was near bedtime, by the glow of an illuminated stovetop, that my mother quietly informed me she “was NOT one of my little friends”. #WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/vwJPTca37E
— thee blues in ur left thigh (@cmilitant) July 31, 2024
When I realized that the preacher saying “I’m almost finished, I ain’t gone hold y’all all day” meant we had another two hours to go. #WhenIturnedBlack https://t.co/k3Qx5L6F9S
— lilburn/snellville apologist (@EagleEye1906) July 31, 2024
I was outside with a group of white friends, around 6 years old, the streetlight started to crackle and none of them moved, I said I have to go home now, they looked at me like I was crazy. That’s when I knew I had to be black #WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/6jgsSLSBKp
— King E ⚔️ (@1kingethan) July 31, 2024
I was outside with a group of white friends, around 6 years old, the streetlight started to crackle and none of them moved, I said I have to go home now, they looked at me like I was crazy. That’s when I knew I had to be black #WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/6jgsSLSBKp
— King E ⚔️ (@1kingethan) July 31, 2024
I was born a Black woman but I "turned Black" the first time a white kid called me a n*gger on the playground. That's when I realized that not everyone sees me as a person. They see me as a color.#WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/jWUyijQc8K
— Deshundra Jefferson (@DeshundraTweets) July 31, 2024
Logging on and seeing #WhenITurnedBlack trending and you know somebody said something real stupid. Black Twitter is coming for you. pic.twitter.com/faHZUL4J57
— teatime75 (@teatime75) July 31, 2024
When I saw Turbo dance on that ceiling, I finally knew who I was #WhenITurnedBlack pic.twitter.com/792O6cPaiY
— Edgar Blackmon (@edgarblackmon) July 31, 2024
I was 10 and my parents signed me up for pee-wee football in the suburbs. I wanted to play defense but my coach kept putting me at running back. It all made sense then. #WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/wJFrzLJVdj
— Coach Silky (@NowBackTooMe) July 31, 2024
#WhenITurnedBlack I remember it in the 80s when mother returned from her black job took us to the store and uttered: "When we get in here, you don't want nothing, you don't need nothing, don't ask for nothing"!!!
— LaBrina Loving (@chixcancode) July 31, 2024
I was outside with a group of white friends, around 6 years old, the streetlight started to crackle and none of them moved, I said I have to go home now, they looked at me like I was crazy. That’s when I knew I had to be black #WhenITurnedBlack https://t.co/6jgsSLSBKp
— King E ⚔️ (@1kingethan) July 31, 2024
