Former president Donald Trump is trending after his reaction to hard-hitting questions at the NABJ Convention.
One clip shows the GOP presidential nominee popping off on a journalist who asked him about gaining Black voters’ trust, given his past racist rhetoric. His evasive answer concluded with him questioning VP Kamala Harris‘ biracial identity, namely her Blackness.
See Trump’s Response To Why Black Voters Should Trust Him
Donald Trump kicked off his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago on (Wednesday) July 31, with a spicy response to the first question. He sat on stage with three Black female journalists, including Kadia Goba and Harris Faulkner.
Senior Congressional Correspondent for ABC Rachel Scott began the interview by running down a list of times Trump has spewed racist and prejudiced language, including questioning the birthplace of other politicians like Barack Obama and Nikki Haley.
Ultimately, Scott asked, “Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”
“Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, first question. You don’t even say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC because I think they are a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it’s disgraceful that I came here, in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country, including employment, including opportunity zones with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for Black workers and Black entrepreneurs.”
As he continued on the NABJ stage, Donald Trump added that he’s given “stone-cold broke” historically Black universities and colleges money, saving them and providing long-term financing. For context, he DID sign a bipartisan bill in 2019 that addressed long-term HBCU funding.
“I think it’s a very rude introduction. I don’t know why exactly you would do something like that. And let me go a step forward. I was invited here, and I was told my opponent, whether it was Biden or Kamala, I was told my opponent was going to be here. It turned out my opponent wasn’t here. You invited me under false pretenses.”
Trump at the NABJ is immediately asked about his racist comments and why Black voters should trust him. He replies, "First of all, I don't think I've very been asked a question in such a horrible manner." pic.twitter.com/6ZmOo0ixCE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2024
Donald Said THIS About Kamala Harris’ Blackness At NABJ
As he continued to evade the question about why Black voters should trust him, Donald turned the spotlight on Kamala Harris. The Republican former president claimed that Harris had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage. For context, she is the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president.
“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,” Donald Trump said at the annual NABJ Convention.
See everything Donald Trump said about Kamala Harris’ Black and Indian heritage.
"I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black."
— Donald Trump, when asked at the NABJ convention whether he thinks Kamala Harris is on the Democratic ticket only because she is a Black woman. pic.twitter.com/EP27jmE6rw
— The Recount (@therecount) July 31, 2024
As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation’s most prominent historically Black colleges and universities. While there, she pledged to the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, supporting her colleagues’ legislation aimed at strengthening voting rights and reforming policing.
Here’s What Else The GOP Nominee Said At NABJ
As for Donald Trump on the NABJ stage, he circled back to attacking Scott’s network, ABC. Note that he has been arguing ABC should not host the next presidential debate, despite his earlier agreement to that.
Additionally, the Republican repeated his false claim that immigrants in the country illegally are “taking Black jobs.” When pushed by Scott on what constituted a “Black job,” Trump responded by saying it was “any job.”
As previously reported, Trump first used the phrase “Black jobs” in June, during the first debate against former presidential candidate President Joe Biden.
Donald Trump to the National Association of Black Journalists: “A lot of the journalists in this room are black. I will tell you that coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking black jobs.
Q. “What’s exactly is a black job, sir?"
Trump:… pic.twitter.com/cEnaXrNpE9
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 31, 2024
At one point while at Wednesday’s convention, he said, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.” The audience responded with a mix of boos and some applause.
'It's a disgrace" — here's the entirety of the first question Trump took at the NABJ and how he angrily tried to turn the tables on the journalist who asked it pic.twitter.com/OV1CY979NL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2024
As he campaigns for the White House for a third time, Trump’s campaign has touted his efforts to win over Black Americans, Democrats’ most committed voting bloc. His campaign has emphasized his messages on the economy and immigration as part of his appeal.
However, some of his outreach has played on racial stereotypes, including the suggestion that African Americans would empathize with the criminal charges he has faced and his promotion of branded sneakers. When asked to comment on Sonya Massey and the issue of immunity for police, Donald could not elaborate on who she was.
RELATED: Sonya Massey’s Family Seeks JUSTICE After A 911 Call Resulted In Her Tragic Death | TSR Investigates
Trump on the Sonya Massey murder and whether the office should have immunity: "I don't know the exact case, but I saw something and it did not look good to me. It did not look good to me. You are talking with the water, right?" pic.twitter.com/IN2tXRgcob
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 31, 2024
Later Wednesday, he’s headed to Pennsylvania for the first time since the attempted assassination against him. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris’ first rally in Atlanta on Tuesday (July 20) has sparked divided reactions.
RELATED: Issa Recap! Kamala Harris Lights Up Atlanta Rally Stage, Challenges Donald Trump To Debate & Brings Out Rap Guests
Associated Press staff Matt Brown and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
