Washington, July 17 -- : Amid a raging debate across the United States on racism following US President Donald Trump's Twitter outburst and the recently concluded ICE raids which targeted immigrants, a senior counselor to Trump raised eyebrows after she asked a reporter about his ethnicity here on Tuesday.

"If the President was not telling these four Congresswomen to return to their supposed countries of origin, to which countries was he referring?" was the reporter's question, in a video of the incident shared by CNN.

"What's your ethnicity?" Kellyanne Conway asked in response.

"Why is that relevant?" the reporter quipped before Conway said "because I'm asking a question" following which she listed where her ancestors are from.

"My own...