Trump at NABJ: ‘You invited me underneath false pretense’
Former President Trump says throughout his look on the Nationwide Affiliation of Black Journalists’ conference in Chicago that Vice President Kamala Harris has solely promoted one facet of her heritage and fires again on a DEI query.
There was a fiery check yesterday, not only for Donald Trump however for the Nationwide Affiliation of Black Journalists.
The group, which has “journalists” in its title, didn’t fare effectively in my opinion.
Nor was it Trump’s best hour.
However I’ll say this: I don’t purchase the post-game commentary that Trump went to the Chicago gathering to attraction to his MAGA base by choosing a struggle with Black people.
Understand that when Joe Biden was nonetheless working, Trump drawing Black help within the polls at ranges not seen for a Republican in many years. Clearly the passing of the torch to Kamala Harris scrambles that calculation.
Trump’s view, as I see it, was that he was getting into the lion’s den, understanding he’d get some detrimental questions however hoping he’d get some credit score for exhibiting up and highlighting such initiatives as serving to finance traditionally Black schools and universities.
Former President Trump’s look on the Nationwide Affiliation of Black Journalists conference proved testy for each himself and the group. (Photograph by Scott Olson/Getty Photographs)
However on the NABJ facet, there was one thing of a revolt on the alternative to query a former president who heads the Republican ticket.
The group’s co-chair resigned, partially due to the invitation.
April Ryan, who consistently tangled with Trump and is now a White Home reporter for The Grio, tweeted that the invite “is an affront to what this organization stands for and a slap in the face to the Black women journalists (NABJ journalists of the year) who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation.”
No bias there, proper?
That is how the panel, which included Fox’s Harris Faulkner, started.
ABC’s Rachel Scott didn’t a lot ask a query as ship an indictment.
Trump’s alternate with Rachel Scott of ABC was much less of a Q&A than it was a dressing-down by the senior congressional correspondent. (Photograph by Scott Olson/Getty Photographs)
“You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals,” she stated. “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 former 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 district attorneys. You’ve attacked black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, 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’s response: “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’re a fake news network, a terrible network. And I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country.”
Trump additionally stated he was invited underneath false pretenses as a result of he was informed he needed to be there in particular person. However yesterday, after rejecting a digital look by Harris, the group modified its thoughts and allowed it.
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Trump’s greatest misstep got here after one other query by Rachel Scott.
“Do you believe,” she requested, “that Vice President Kamala Harris is just on the ticket as a result of she is a black girl?”
Trump’s response: “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. And now she wants to be known as black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?”
Scott interjected: “She has always identified as Black. She went to a historically Black college.”
“I respect either one,” Trump stated, “but she obviously doesn’t because she was Indian all the way. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went. She became a Black person.”
Questioning the racial id of a Black girl who went to Howard College just isn’t the best way to win mates in that neighborhood.
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Nevertheless it was not a fantastic day for NABJ both.
In the meantime, I used to be scrolling by means of X the opposite day – sure, it’s a part of the job – and inside a few minutes got here throughout loads of controversial previous stances by Harris.
“THE ROOT: ’Should black people get reparations?’
“KAMALA HARRIS: ‘There have to be some form of reparations.’”
“Kamala Harris says obligatory gun confiscation is ‘a great idea’ — then says she’ll do it by govt motion inside her ‘first 100 days.’”
“Kamala Harris As soon as Pledged To Hold Transgender Criminals Out Of Jail As President”
“This is Kamala bragging about her work to make sure ‘every transgender inmate in the prison system’ has entry to taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgical procedures.”
These were originally posted by the RNC, the Trump campaign or conservative groups – but have drawn remarkably little media attention.
Unlike Vice President Harris, Trump has at least demonstrated a willingness to take on the press. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Now this might surprise you – I don’t think most voters particularly care about flip-flops. After all, Donald Trump used to be a Democrat. He used to be pro-choice. He donated money to Harris when she was a California official.
Most Americans want to know what you’re going to do tomorrow, not what you said four or five years ago.
And while the mainstream media don’t much care, it helps to offer an explanation.
When I interviewed Donald Trump, I asked why he had tried to ban TikTok as president and now supports it. He said it would unfairly help Facebook, which people can buy or not, but at least he had a rationale.
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Harris has made no attempt to do that, in part because she’s basically taking no questions (though she regularly talks to her traveling press corps off the record). That was a major criticism of the president, for reasons we now more fully understand.
And that gave the Trump campaign an opening to counter her taunts on why he won’t commit to debating her:
“It has been ten days since Kamala’s coup to drive Crooked Joe Biden off the poll, however she hasn’t executed a single interview nor press convention…The one logical conclusion is that she’s terrified.
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“Is Kamala trying to make history as the first major nominee to take zero questions from the press?”
I actually hope that’s not the case.
