Donald Trump conversation begins at 51:30
CHICAGO—Despite facing a deluge of backlash, an annual convention of Black journalists proceeded with a fireside chat with former President Donald Trump, who seized the opportunity to speak in front of hundreds of members of the press—whom he has both derided and praised before, during, and after his tenure in the Oval Office—as he campaigns for a second term.
Less than a month after an attempted assassination, Trump was hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) at its 2024 national conference at a Chicago hotel, where convention attendees and media from around the country packed a ballroom for a 30-minute panel moderated by three Black journalists. Convention-goers started lining up as early as 9 a.m. for the noon panel, which was delayed by more than half an hour, to secure their spot.
Trump’s appearance was announced less than two days before Black journalists across the country descended on Chicago for the conference, which normally features a job fair, workshops, and networking for attendees. A back-and-forth over social media enraged several members of the organization, who said they were “blindsided” by the announcement of Trump’s talk, and questioned whether likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was offered the same opportunity.
The ballroom was filled to capacity when the former president took the stage where Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Harris Faulkner, anchor of “The Faulkner Focus” and co-host of “Outnumbered” on Fox News; and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor, attempted to question him.
“Why should Black voters trust you?” Scott asked, confronting Trump with a litany of attacks the former president has lobbed at the press—particularly the Black press and Black journalists.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been [asked] a question in such a horrible way,” he responded with anger. “I think it’s a very rude introduction. I don’t know why you would ask that.”
Trump went on to repeatedly direct ire toward Scott and her employer while taking softened questions from Faulkner, who had been criticized on social media in the hours leading up to the panel, based on more cordial interviews and social interactions with the former president.
When asked about Republican Congressmembers who have claimed that Vice President Harris was a “DEI candidate,” Trump responded oddly, claiming falsely that she had previously only identified as Indian. “I didn’t know she was Black…all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went Black.”
Nearly all of Trump’s responses were met with derision, shock, and skepticism by the journalists in the audience, most of whom were members of NABJ.
When asked why officers like those who killed Sonya Massey, an Illinois woman shot in her home by police after calling authorities for help, should receive immunity, he said, “If I felt…that someone was being unfairly prosecuted…if someone made an innocent mistake…I would want to help that person.”
Time and time again, Trump evaded when asked direct questions, sometimes filibustering the journalists on stage. Nearly no new information or insights were elicited from him, ultimately giving credence to the criticisms of some NABJ members that giving Trump the stage would not be an opportunity to hold him accountable. When not repeating himself or outright lying, including repeatedly telling the crowd that Harris failed the bar exam when she indeed passed it, the 78-year-old candidate frequently complained about not being able to hear his questioners and the quality of the microphones and loudspeakers.
When asked if January 6 insurrectionists were patriots and whether he would pardon them, he answered, “If they are innocent, I would pardon them,” despite being corrected that they had been convicted.
Some members of the audience shouted at Trump as he told lie after lie about what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
The event ended abruptly, to the dismay of the audience.
“This shit was disgusting,” said Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah immediately after the event. Attiah resigned as a convention co-chair when the event was announced. “He steamrolls over this format every time; the lies are impossible to keep up with in real time,” she added.
“I’m deeply angry right now,” Attiah said as she left the room.
“It was exactly what I expected,” said Jelani Cobb, dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
How the Trump appearance happened
The NABJ conference is held annually. In election years, the leading candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties are invited to panel discussions before attendees.
Trump declined invitations in both 2016 and 2020.
“Every four years, NABJ invites the candidates and he’s a candidate,” said NABJ lifetime member and St. Louis American contributing editor Fred Sweets in the ballroom before the event began. “My first question [to Trump] would be, ‘Will you apologize for taking out that full-page ad calling for the execution of [the Central Park Five]?’” Addressing the controversy, Sweets said, “We’re journalists and this is news; we’d be held to account if we didn’t cover it. I hope the other candidates show up, too.”
Former NABJ President Bob Butler agreed, adding, “This is an opportunity to ask him about his past attacks on us and to hold him accountable.”
Cobb opposed Trump’s invitation, saying, “I don’t think it was appropriate to invite him because of those attacks on the press and his propensity for misinformation.”
Cobb also expressed doubt that the journalists who would question Trump would be able to hold him to account. “We haven’t seen it previously, so I’m not optimistic that it will happen today,” he said.
Journalist Roland Martin was even more impassioned. “He shouldn’t be here. This man has been the most vicious politician attacking the media in my lifetime. He hasn’t apologized for those attacks and he should not be here.”
Martin hoped that the questioners would “hold him accountable for the lies that are going to spew out of his mouth.”
NABJ President Ken Lemon addressed the controversy in an email and public statement to members: “NABJ has been in talks with both the Democratic and Republican parties since January. NABJ was in contact with Vice President Kamala Harris’ team for an in-person panel before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July.
“However, we were advised by her campaign at the time that her schedule could not accommodate this request. The last update we were provided (earlier this week) was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention. We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement.
“I consulted with a group of our Founders and past NABJ Presidents Tuesday on-site in Chicago, and as a group, we affirmed that the invitation to Former President Trump was in line with NABJ’s usual practices since 1976.”
NABJ updated its statement just before the event, stating that “NABJ is currently in conversation with the Harris for President campaign team to schedule a Q&A session between Vice President Harris and NABJ, either in person or virtually, at some point in September 2024.”
Jasmine Harris, Black media director for the Kamala Harris campaign, issued a press statement saying ,“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.
“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.”
Before the event, Trump went on his own social media platform, Truth Social, to try to make hay from the fact that the vice president was not planning on addressing the conference due to scheduling conflicts: “Crazy Kamala disrespectfully refused to attend the National Association of Black Journalists Conference.”Disinformation researcher and journalist Diara J. Townes, in an op-ed for the AmNews, asked, “What can this conversation achieve that hasn’t already been attempted by previous reporters in one-on-one interviews or press gaggles? NABJ has failed to uphold its own goals for this convention, which is themed ‘Winds of Change: Journalism over Disinformation.’ Narrative power and control should not be dismissed or relinquished. Allowing a presidential candidate to amplify ‘alternative facts’ to a community without authentic access or paths to accountability is an affront to journalism.”