Trump insults moderator, questions if Harris is Black in contentious Q&A with Black journalists in Chicago

Donald Trump's question-and-answer session with Black journalists in Chicago became contentious almost immediately.

The former president was argumentative in responding to the first question, from moderator Rachel Scott of ABC News.

Scott's first question was prefaced with a recitation of Trump's past statements, including Trump's claim that former President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States, and Trump's past treatment of Black journalists.

"Why should Black voters trust you, after you have used language like that?" Scott asked.

"I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner," Trump said.

"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," Trump said, as some in the audience at the Hilton Chicago jeered.

"I love the Black population of this country," Trump said, continuing to interrupt Scott as she tried to press for an answer.

"I think it's a very nasty question. ... I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln."

Trump also argued with Scott over her question that some Republicans have referred to Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee, as "a DEI candidate."

First he asked for a definition, and Scott reminded Trump DEI stands for "diversity, equity, inclusion." She then tried to pin him down on whether Republicans are saying Harris is the nominee based only on her race and gender.

Trump contended that Harris hadn't previously identified as Black, but now does.

"She was always of Indian heritage. 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 and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said.

"So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one but she obviously doesn’t because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.”

Harris, who has a mother of Indian heritage and a Black father, always has identified as Black and attended Howard University, a prominent historically Black school.

Read the full Sun-Times report here.

Trump's appearance at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists ran late. He walked out about 1:15 p.m., later than the scheduled noon, then blamed the delay on NABJ's own audio issues, a point he brought up repeatedly during questions.

"You're the one that held me up for 35 minutes," he said at one point. He also complained about having a hard time hearing some questions, and one of the questioners said she was having audio problems as well.

Things settled down a bit after a contentious beginning, with Trump touching on a range of topics, including jobs, inflation and border security among them — though in nearly each case, he was often repeating previously-debunked claims, such as that inflation is at its highest point in a century.

At one point, Trump was asked if he would step down if his health declined: "Oh absolutely. I think I’d know. I think I'd know."

Besides Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, the others on the panel were Harris Faulkner of Fox News, and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor. Goba interviewed Trump this year, and Faulkner sat down with Trump this month.

Goba at one point asked about Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, noting Vance has a lot of opinions, "about childless women like myself and," pointing to Trump, "divorced people like you."

That drew chuckles from the audience and a smile as well from Trump, who noted the question had been asked in a friendly manner.

Scheduled for an hour, Trump cut things short at about 37 minutes, just before one of the panel started to ask about Project 2025, a policy agenda developed at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, by several former Trump administration officials.

Afterward, NABJ members continued to question the decision to invite Trump to the stage in the first place.“I think this format lends itself to the mass production of disinformation and misinformation,” said Jelani Cobb, a dean of the Columbia Journalism School. “The question is whether or not what we did today was in the further service of democracy and our role in responsibility as journalists, I don't think it was.”

Protests outside

About an hour or so before Trump's arrival, a small group of protesters had gathered outside the hotel, at 720 S. Michigan Ave., before moving across the street.

City trucks from the Department of Streets and Sanitation were in place to restrict access along Balbo on the north side of the hotel to the parking garage area, where the motorcade arrived.

Among those awating his arrival were protesters who gathered by the hotel before moving across the street to the other side of Michigan Avenue.

Police on bicycles lined up along Michigan in front of the protesters, who chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, racists are not welcome here," accompanied by a brass band. At times, they also chanted "free, free Palestine."

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 being “complicit in the genocide against Palestinian people 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 Trumps appearance.

The protesters, numbering around 100 at one point, had dwindled to a few dozen by the time Trump arrived.

Many attendees were veteran activists. But it was Christina Runkle’s first protest.

Runkle, who held a handmade sign saying “Harris 4 president,” said she came to protest Trump because of his attitude toward women.

“He doesn't like women very much,” Runkle said. And Vance, the person that he picked (for vice president), really doesn't like women very much. He wants them to stay at home. And that's offensive.”

Backlash over invitation

The decision by the National Association of Black Journalists to invite Trump was slammed by some members and attendees, and the conference’s co-chair, Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, announced on X that she was stepping down from her role.

In response to the controversy, NABJ President Ken Lemon issued a statement saying, in part: "While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable."

Lemon's statement also noted the journalists' group was "working with PolitiFact to provide live fact-checking updates" during the event.

Live onine fact-checking was available from PolitiFact.

Hours before Trump arrived at the hotel, CNN offered a live update from outside the Hilton, and the area outside the ballroom was jammed with long lines before the doors opened, both with journalists there to attend the event and others there to cover it.

Video of the entire appearance can be found on the NABJ YouTube account or on the group’s Facebook page.

Yes, the interview will be live-streamed via NABJ’s YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NABJOfficial/streams and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NABJOfficial/.

Video of the entire appearance is available online at the NABJ YouTube isat the NABJ YouTube page. or the group's Facebook page.

Some NABJ members and members of the media say Trump’s treatment of Black reporters during his presidential term should disqualify him from participating. Others are upset about the timing of the announcement — two days before the five-day convention begins, and as many members were already traveling to Chicago for the event.

Vice President Kamala 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. Convention organizers also denied a request for Harris to appear for a virtual chat. The group has since said it is working with the campaign to arrange a virtual chat at some point after the convention.

Prior to dropping his re-election bid, President Joe Biden had confirmed he would appear at the NABJ convention.

Before Trump's appearance, the Harris campaign issued a statement saying, in part:

“Ahead of Donald Trump’s conversation at NABJ today — let’s remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy."

It continued: “We know Donald Trump is going to lie about his record and the real harm he’s caused Black communities at NABJ – and he must be called out."

Other convention events canceled

Organizers of the convention were forced to reschedule or cancel events due to Trump's appearance — citing security concerns.

That included a career fair, according to one of the convention's organizers.

A Pew Research Center session about artificial intelligence and a Lumina Foundation event about higher education also were canceled. Three other conference sessions were rescheduled on Wednesday.