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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said this week that Black journalists who oppose former President Donald Trump appearing at the National Association of Black Journalists convention need to "grow up."
On Tuesday, Smith appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show, where he and Kelly discussed Trump's recent invitation from the NABJ to attend its gathering in Chicago, Illinois, this week. Some Black journalists have criticized Trump's invitation.
On Monday, political commentator Jemele Hill responded to criticism on X, formerly Twitter, saying, "As journalists, we can never be afraid to tackle someone like Trump. The reality is that he is running for president and needs to be treated as such. Being questioned by journalists is part of the job, and especially important in the company of Black journalists."
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"I side completely with Jemele Hill on this. He's the GOP nominee; I mean, we just gotta grow up," Smith said on The Megyn Kelly Show.
"He's the GOP nominee. Whether you like it or not, one of two people are gonna be president of the United States come January 2025. It's gonna be Donald Trump, or it's gonna be Kamala Harris," Smith said.
"So, if you're the National Association of Black Journalists...the same platform you would give to Kamala Harris, the same platform you would give to a senator or a congressional figure, you should certainly accord to the GOP nominee for the presidency of the United States."
Newsweek reached out to the NABJ via email for comment.
The NABJ said Trump's Q&A session will "concentrate on the most pressing issues facing the Black community" and will be moderated by ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News host Harris Faulkner, and Semafor reporter Kadia Goba.
In a statement announcing the Q&A session, Trump's campaign said the former president has "accomplished more for Black Americans than any other president in recent history by implementing America First policies on the economy, immigration, energy, law and order, and foreign policy."
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was also invited to the NABJ convention this year, but it is unclear if she will accept.
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Black journalists who criticized the NABJ's move to invite Trump include Tiffany Walden, the editor-in-chief of The Triibe, who told The Guardian that the invitation was "irresponsible."
"We've watched him use Chicago as a dog whistle in all of his campaign's materials during his first run for office. He talked about Chicago having top gang thugs. So this puts the city of Chicago and its residents in a very vulnerable position. It also puts Black journalists in a very vulnerable position at a convention that's supposed to be a safe space for them," Walden said.
Addressing the concerns, Ken Lemon, NABJ's president, said in a video posted to X, "I understand some people have a feeling about this. I understand people are disappointed. I understand people are upset. It is our job also to offer that opportunity for those candidates to be here, and not doing that would not be the right thing," Lemon said.
Despite the initial comment from Hill which appeared to defend the NABJ's invitation to Trump, she changed her tone in a series of separate posts on Tuesday.
"I was torn about the Trump-NABJ situation initially, mostly because I've been talking with Black folks recently who just aren't as politically engaged as most people in my circle," Hill wrote. "It made me wonder if we are over-estimating how many people in our community know what a danger Trump is, and could Trump's appearance at NABJ really help us connect the dots for people?"
Hill said that after noticing how her "fellow journalists were just not on board and felt disrespected, it became clear inviting Trump was never worth it."
"I stand with my fellow Black journalists and NABJ members. The only course of action is for @NABJ to rescind their invitation to Trump before this gets any worse. The organization is obligated to stand with its members, who are the soul of the organization," Hill said in a subsequent post.
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