Trump at the National Association of Black Journalists: clashes and statements about Kamala Harris' "convenient" identity

This Wednesday, Donald Trump took the stage at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention. The session, moderated by ABC News journalist, Rachel Scott, generated controversy even before it began due to the opposition of several black journalists to the former president's invitation.

Karen Attiah's resignation and internal division at the NABJ.

The controversy began before the event when Karen Attiah, a columnist for the Washington Post, resigned as co-chair of the NABJ annual convention following both internal and external reaction to Trump's announcement as a featured speaker. NABJ, known for inviting presidential candidates to its annual conferences, faced a split among its members due to Trump's participation.

"While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format," Attiah stated. On the other hand, conference co-chair Tia Mitchell defended the decision to invite Trump, explaining that it is in keeping with NABJ's tradition of inviting all presidential candidates for decades.

Controversial start: Scott launches accusations against Trump

Scott kicked off the event accusing Trump of making false claims and directly addressing criticism of his presence. "A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color who were American citizens to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabbit’ to describe Black attorneys. You've attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they asked are 'stupid and racist,'" Scott said, raising a trenchant question about why black voters should trust Trump.

Trump's response and defense of his legacy.

Trump responded with visible annoyance, "I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, a first question. You don’t even say ‘hello, how are you.’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re 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."

The former president listed several of his accomplishments for the black community before resuming his criticism of Scott for his "very rude" presentation. "I don’t know why you would do something like that… 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 isn’t here. You invited me under false pretense," Trump said.

Showdown intensified: incisive questions and comparisons 

The exchange intensified when Scott insisted on getting a clear answer about black voters' confidence in Trump. "I'd love it if you could answer the question," Scott said. Trump, however, stuck to his guns, calling the question "very nasty" and declaring, "I already answered the question. I've been the best president for black people since Abraham Lincoln."

The discussion veered into historical comparisons, when Trump was asked if he considered himself better than President Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Trump criticized Scott's hostility and his tardiness in arriving at the event. "For you to start off a question-and-answer period, especially when you’re 35 minutes late because you couldn’t get your equipment to work, in such a hostile manner, I think it’s a disgrace. I really do," he commented.

Trump's comments about Kamala Harris

During his remarks at the NABJ convention, Donald Trump made comments that sparked intense debate. Addressing the identity of Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump expressed that his opponent “happened to turn Black” after “only promoting Indian heritage”.

"I’ve known her a long time indirectly — not directly very much — and she was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was black — until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black" Trump commented. He added that while he respects both the Indian and black communities, "she obviously doesn’t."

Trump's appearance at the NABJ convention drew a mixed reaction from the audience, but the former president was pleased with his performance. "The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we crushed it!" expressed Trump in a post on Truth Social.