That's especially good when after the person corrects with an example of "But I'm Korean", and you say "It's the same thing." Works like a charm.
I like to respond to asinine lines of questioning with obvious troll answers, like Italy when someone asks me where I'm from (no relatives from Italy, never been).
Honestly Trump should no better. Regardless of whether it is racist it isn’t; it just isn’t appropriate behavior. I used to ask people their ethnicity. However I have had several people tell me later when we became friends they didn’t appreciate it and I can see why someone COULD take offense. The reality is that people don’t usually ask a white person or black person without an accent what their ethnicity is. I think it is a fair question and proper to ask, just probably not within 10 minutes of meeting them. I have had some very close friends say they don’t like the question from a stranger because their ethnicity means nothing to them and doesn’t in their opinion shape who they are because their family has been in the USA for generations. One friend of mine was born in Korea but adopted by an American white family. People consistently ask him his ethnicity and while he doesn’t get mad, he does believe it is a loaded question. Then again I had another Asian friend get mad that I didn’t know he was Chinese; until I told him it never came up in our discussions and was irrelevant. I pointed out that he didn’t know what my family genetics were either. Personally I don’t ask anymore until later in the friendship or if it comes up. I don’t think it is always racism in the sense that many people think. In inner city Chicago I have had people ask if am Irish, Polish, from Spain and other places.
It's totally fine to ask what someone's ethnicity is outside the scope of interviewing someone for a job. Context is key. If you are asking someone because you are genuinely curious or you want to be sensitive to their cultural beliefs or maybe you'd like to relate a story. But if it's done as a defining measure it can be annoying and borderline offensive if the question is based on a stereotype. The key is to do it in a way that doesn't make the other person uncomfortable. Asking what someone's nationality is or where they are from is probably a bad idea if you are not asking where they grew up. I love it when someone asks me where I'm from and I say New Orleans and Houston. And they follow that up with, "No I mean what nationality are you?" Finally they think I am being coy and ask where my parents are from and get that I am Indian. Then proceed to tell me how much they love curry and how Indians are so smart helping her with her computer. That's the kind of thing that makes one feel being sized up for what's on the surface. But if you ask someone, "Hey was curious if you were Japanese or Chinese" most people won't get annoyed. Most people are proud of ethnic background...they just don't like to be judged on it.
