Donald Trump attended a Q&A with political journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, where, despite some internal opposition to Trump’s presence, NABJ President Ken Lemon promised those assembled “the opportunity … to ask the tough questions” of the twice-impeached former president.
Trump, who’s grown accustomed to softball questions from right-wing reporters, was clearly not up to the task.
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ABC News’ senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, who served as a moderator, opened with a question addressing “the elephant in the room.” The question is worth reading in its entirety:
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 are American citizens, to ‘go back to where they came from’; you have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys; you have attacked Black journalists, calling them ‘losers,’ saying the questions that they ask are ‘stupid’ and ‘racist’; you’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort.
So my question, sir: Now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?
Trump responded by attacking Scott herself, avoiding any substance entirely. “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” he said, to gasps from the audience.
“Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network,” he told the journalist. “You’re a terrible network. And 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.”
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The back-and-forth only spiraled from there, despite some friendly redirects from Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, who was also at the event as a moderator.
The Harris campaign pounced soon after the event concluded.
“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign,” Harris spokesperson Michael Tyler said in an emailed statement.
Here are the five wildest moments from the panel, with a hat tip to journalist Aaron Rupar for relaying Trump’s performance on social media.
Trump panicked when asked why Black voters should trust him when he’s dined with a white supremacist at Mar-a-Lago.
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Trump kept fuming even as the moderators moved on to new material, pausing amid a question about his age to refer to Scott as “this woman” and call her “very rude” and “nasty” while heckling an audience member.
Trump wouldn’t say if JD Vance is ready to be president.
When Faulkner asked Trump if his running mate would be “ready on day one” to step up as commander in chief, Trump side-stepped the question entirely.
“Historically, the vice president, in the terms of the election, does not have any impact. I mean virtually no impact,” he said. “Virtually never has it mattered.”
