CHICAGO — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump fielded questions from a National Association of Black Journalists committee on Wednesday during a heated session during which he falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris “accidentally turned black” during her political career.
During the roughly 35-minute melee, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott.
“I think it’s shameful that I came here in good spirit,” Trump said. “I love the black population of this country.”
The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, political reporter for Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, host of Fox News.
Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trump’s visit, especially considering his treatment of high-profile black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a huge backlash. Members were also critical of the lack of transparency surrounding Trump’s invitation and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network.
Trump attacked ABC’s Scott, calling her questions “rude” and her media outlet a “fake news network.”
Scott asked Trump why black voters should trust him, especially after Trump made false claims that his political rivals, such as former President Barack Obama, were not born in the United States. I had dinner with a white supremacist at his Florida residence and criticized black journalists.
“I don’t think anyone has ever asked me a question in such a horrible way,” Trump said.
Scott pressed Trump on Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, who is the first Black and Asian-American woman to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire, asking if that is acceptable language.
Trump did not answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said means diversity, equity and inclusion.
Trump then questioned whether Harris is black.
“I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she became black, and now she wants to be known as black,” Trump said. “So I don’t know if she’s Native American or black?”
Harris attended Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historically black student organization. Her father is Jamaican, and her behind schedule mother was an Indian immigrant.
Harris in Houston
Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he dropped out of his re-election campaign, was invited by NABJ to answer questions, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling to Houston on Wednesday for events, including a campaign stop.
NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September.
Regarding Trump’s participation on the panel, Jasmine Harris, Harris’ campaign director of Black media, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement: “Let’s remind ourselves exactly who this man is.”
“Donald Trump not only has a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the black press, but he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press plays in our democracy,” she said.
Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trump’s behavior during the interview was hostile.
“Trump has been hurling personal attacks and insults at black journalists the same way he has been doing his entire presidency — while he has failed black families and made it so that the entire country has to dig itself out of the ditch that he left us in,” Tyler said. “Donald Trump has already proven that he cannot unite America, so he is trying to divide us.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked at a White House news conference about Trump’s visit to the convention, said: “It’s a campaign stop for him.”
The Trump campaign used the invitation to argue that the former president growing support among black voters. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, a majority of black voters supported voting for Biden (about 77%), while about 18% of black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. according to a May report by the Pew Research Center.
NABJ Fact Check
In an email sent to members Wednesday morning, Lemon emphasized that the organization’s invitation is not an endorsement and that live fact checking with PolitiFact during the session. Members who were present were not allowed to ask questions.
“While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important that we provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable,” Lemon said. “We also want to provide our members with the facts.”
Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist based in Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stands on the black community.
“I thought he was terribly rude to Rachel Scott, and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not being soft and asking the tough questions from the very beginning, because I doubt he’s ever faced tough questions from black women,” she said.
NABJ Tradition
Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year has been an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have participated in press conferences or other question-and-answer formats, including George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama. In 2016, Hillary Clinton attendedbut Trump, who was also invited, declined the invitation.
The announcement behind schedule Monday that Trump would appear sparked an uproar among NABJ members. Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah resigned as co-chair of the NABJ convention.
“While many factors influenced my decision, I was not involved or consulted in any way regarding the decision to promote Trump in this format,” said Attiah, who was named NABJ Journalist of the Year in 2019.
April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company targeting black Americans, and the 2017 NABJ Journalist of the Year, expressed her opposition to the session in a social media post.
“The then president of the United States’ reports of attacks on black female White House correspondents are not myth or speculation, but fact,” she said.
During his first term, Trump often clashed with the White House press corps, but he was especially harsh when it came to black women journalists such as Ryan, CNN’s Abby Phillip and Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for PBS.
Ryan, who has traditionally borne the brunt of these attacks, said the decision to host the panel with Trump was “a slap in the face to Black women journalists … who have had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential candidate who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and its democracy with his Project 2025.”
Epicenter NYC Editorial Director Femi Redwood, Chair of the NABJ LGBTQ+ Task Force, wrote in a social media post saying the panel was not informed of Trump’s invitation and objected “given the harm he has done to Black queer and trans people — including journalists and NABJ members.”
“I am disappointed that in a place where so many queer and trans people continue to feel vulnerable, I will now feel even more unsafe because of Trump’s invitation and the possibility that his most ardent supporters will come to the hotel to support him,” she said.
Some defenders
Some NABJ members defended the decision, including Leroy Chapman Jr., editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“This is what we need to ‘normalize’ – candidates for office standing in front of journalists and answering questions,” he said. in a social media post.
A handful of Trump supporters were reported to have attended the event, including Chicago radio host P Rae Easley, who cheered when Trump took the stage.
In an interview with States Newsroom, she said Trump has done a lot for the black community.
“You would have to be a fool to continue to support the policies” of the Biden administration, she said.
Goba asked about Trump’s support for granting immunity to police officers. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed black woman who called 911 for support and was shot by a sheriff’s deputy.
“Why should someone like this officer be given immunity?” Goba asked.
Trump said he did not know the case well and added that the officer may have made an “innocent mistake.”
“Sometimes very bad decisions are made, not from a bad perspective, but from the perspective of making a mistake,” Trump said.
Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the law enforcement officers who were injured by the pro-Trump mob. She asked Trump whether the Jan. 6 rioters who were convicted by the courts should be pardoned.
Trump did not answer the question and cited the situation in Minnesota, criticizing the protests that broke out there and across the country after the release of a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man who died.
Officer Derek Chauvin was later convicted of murder.
Questions about JD Vance
Goba asked Trump about his vice presidential running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them “childless pussycats.”
Trump never answered the question and went off topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they allow abortion after childbirth.
Scott also asked Trump about Vance’s comments that people with children should be allowed to vote more than those without children.
“One of the fundamental principles of American life is one person, one vote,” Scott said. “I just want to be clear, is that your campaign position?”
Trump said the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance.
“He’s very family oriented,” Trump said.
Trump then turned to the issue of immigration and falsely claimed that non-citizens vote in federal electionswhich is already illegal and rarely happens.
Following the event, Trump senior adviser Lynne Patton issued a statement criticizing the media for “unprofessional comments directed” at the former president.
“The biased and rude treatment today by some hostile members of the media will backfire,” Patton said. “It will be their undoing in 2024.”
Andrea Shaw assisted in the preparation of this report.
