Second gentleman Doug Emhoff on Thursday described former President Donald Trump’s latest racist lie about Emhoff’s wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, as simply a “distraction.”

“What was your reaction when your wife turned Black? Were you surprised?” Kimmel asked Emhoff during a lengthy interview, referring to Trump’s assertion in July that Harris happened “to turn Black” for political capital. For the record, Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and has always identified with her Black heritage.

Emhoff laughed, shook his head and then responded:

“You know, it’s so interesting. All that stuff, you know, it’s a distraction, though. We can joke about it, but it’s literally a distraction. All the insults, coming at her, coming at me, coming at our family, is literally a distraction from what they are trying to do.”

Watch from the 10-minute mark here:

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Elsewhere in the sit-down, Emhoff explained why he wasn’t advising Harris on her upcoming Sept. 10 debate on ABC News with Trump, revealed how he was also taken by surprise by Harris’ early appearance on stage at the Democratic National Convention, and shared the funny comments from friends following his hug with Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

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