Trump lies about Kamala Harris' race and bashes journalists at NABJ appearance in Chicago

Former President Donald Trump questioned whether Vice President Kamala Harris is Black and lambasted a moderator's question about derogatory statements he has made towards the Black community in a combative 37-minute interview before thousands of Black reporters in Chicago on Wednesday.

The question-and-answer session at the National Association of Black Journalists conference began more than an hour late — with Trump blaming audio issues — and ending early, with no explanation.

The short event was full of incendiary comments from the former president. When asked if it was appropriate to call Harris a "DEI hire," which many Republicans are calling her, Trump accused Harris of "only promoting Indian heritage."

"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?”

Rachel Scott, a congressional correspondent for ABC News and the event's moderator, replied,"She's always been Black."

Trump added, "She was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black woman."

Scott's first question was an overview of derogatory comments and actions Trump has made towards the Black community. "....You've used animal and rabbit to describe Black district attorneys. You've attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions they asked are, 'stupid and racist.' You had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you're asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?"

"I don't think I've ever been asked a question so, in such a horrible manner," Trump replied, adding that he believed ABC News was "fake news." The former president brought up Scott's question later in the event, calling it "very rude."

"That wasn't a question. She didn't ask me a question. She gave a statement. That wasn't a question," Trump said.

The NABJ's Q&A with Trump, held at the Hilton Chicago and announced on Monday night, caused internal and external backlash among the group’s members. Some members said Trump’s treatment of Black reporters during his presidential term was enough for them to boycott the event. Others were upset about the timing of the announcement — two days before the convention began, and as many members were already en route to Chicago.

But Trump insisted, "I come in good spirits. I love the Black population of this country. I've done so much for the Black population."

"I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln," Trump said, as someone in the crowd screamed, "B******t."

Afterward, journalist Diara Townes, who traveled from Raleigh, NC for the convention, called the contentious session "wild."

“If you choose to see someone a certain way that is your subjective choice that is not an objective reality. So perhaps for Trump he never viewed Kamala as a Black person, that doesn’t mean she isn’t,” Townes said.

Townes criticized NABJ for inviting Trump to what’s supposed to be a “safe space” for journalists, but also criticized the moderators’ performance. She said Scott’s decision to come “out the gate hot is not a way to approach this particular interviewee.

“I think there was a lot of pressure to not go easy considering the other two journalists on the panel: one who has a history of being a little bit easier on Trump and then one who I don’t know as well — I don’t know how well she’s been battle tested,” Townes said. “And I think it negatively affected what could have been, maybe, a substantive conversation.”

Brandon Pope, a host at WCIU and NABJ member, said he was “disappointed” in the program overall.

“If I’m being frank, I’m disgusted at how blatant he is in his lies. Disgusted at cheers from people in the audience. And really taken aback by the conversation writ large," Pope said. "I want to salute Rachel Scott … [who] did a great job in trying to give critical questions."

But Pope added there were “key things that weren’t discussed” in the conversation that was supposed to last an hour. “Project 2025 is a major thing for the Black community and has major implications for the Black community,” Pope said. “The fact that we didn’t even get to that I think is a problem.”

Organizers of the convention were forced to reschedule or cancel events due to Trump's appearance — citing security concerns. That included part of a career fair, according to one of the convention's organizers.

Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, will not be attending the convention due to logistics, including selecting her running mate, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

NABJ President Ken Lemon on Wednesday said they are continuing to negotiate with Harris, including a question-and-answer event either virtually or in-person in September. Lemon said negotiations with both parties began in January.

Prior to dropping out of the race, President Joe Biden had confirmed his attendance at the conference.

Harris’ campaign on Wednesday released a lengthy statement prior to Trump’s appearance, saying the former president has demeaned members of the Black press and “working against the vital role the press play in our democracy.”

“Black voters see Donald Trump’s lies and empty pandering for what they are — and they will hold him accountable at the polls this November,” the Harris campaign's Black media director, Jasmine Harris, said in a prepared statement. “In contrast, Black voters will hear from Democratic leaders at the NABJ convention about the promises the Biden-Harris administration has kept to our community: millions of jobs created for Black workers, record high Black employment, support for Black-owned small businesses, and billions in student debt relief working to close the racial wealth gap. The choice could not be more clear.”

Democratic National Convention officials said they planned to participate in a question-and-answer session with members of the NABJ Political Task Force on Thursday. That includes Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, DNC chair Minyon Moore, host committee chair Christy George and senior adviser Keiana Barrett.

Outside the event, a small crowd gathered to protest Trump’s appearance. But police seemed to outnumber the protesters around 11:30 a.m. as protesters began chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, racists are not welcome here.” A brass band played along with the chanting across the street.

Hatem Abudayyeh, head of the Chicago-based U.S. Palestinian Community Network which organized some of the protesters, said they were protesting both Democrats and Republicans for "complicity" in the violence endured by Palestinians in Gaza.

“Trump doesn't get a pass, of course, especially because of his racism and his fascism and his reactionary policies and the policies of the Republican Party,” Abudayyeh told the Sun-Times.

His group also plans to march in August during the Democratic National Convention, along with the Coalition to March on the DNC and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which also came Wednesday to protest Trump's appearance.