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By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
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Former President Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference on Wednesday came to an abrupt end after a journalist attempted to ask the former president about Project 2025.
After a tense half hour of Trump fielding questions from journalists on stage, Fox News host Harris Faulkner began asking the former president about the controversial policy agenda drafted by a conservative think tank that lays out proposals for a future Republican administration. Trump has previously distanced himself from the 900-page document.
As Faulkner began her question, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, who also fielded questions to Trump, interrupted, saying that the panel needed to end at the direction of the Trump campaign.
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The Context
The NABJ announced on Monday that Trump would be participating in a Q&A at its annual conference in Chicago this week. Several political heads have participated in the association's events in the past, including former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
The decision to invite Trump, however, was met with mixed reactions from Black journalists, including Karen Attiah, who resigned from her position as this year's co-chair of the NABJ conference in the hours before the event. Attiah said in a statement that there were several reasons why she stepped down but added that she was not consulted about giving Trump a "platform" during the convention.
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What We Know
Trump fielded questions on Wednesday from Scott, Faulkner and Kadia Goba, a reporter for Semafor. The Q&A started with Trump getting defensive after Scott asked him about why some people thought it was not "appropriate" that he join the convention, and listed off several past statements that Trump has made about Black leaders.
"Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?" Scott asked.
"Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner," Trump answered.
"Are you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network," he continued, which prompted a smattering of applause from the audience.
During another part of the interview, Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris' race, claiming that he "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."
Harris is the first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president—her mother is Indian and her father is Jamaican. Scott pushed back on Trump's answers Wednesday, noting that Harris attended Howard University, an historical Black university.
"I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't," Trump continued. "Because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she went—she became a Black person. I think somebody should look into that too."
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.
Views
Harris' campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, released a statement shortly after Trump's Q&A saying that the "hostility" the former president "showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people."
"Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency—while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in," Tyler added. "Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us."
Tyler also again challenged Trump to "show up to the debate" being hosted by ABC News on September 10. The former president had previously agreed to debate President Joe Biden but has not confirmed if he will appear for the event now that Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also reacted to Trump's Q&A appearance during a press briefing that started minutes after the NABJ panel began fielding questions. Jean-Pierre told reporters that it was "repulsive" and "insulting" for Trump to question Harris' Black identity.
"She is the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to put some respect on her name, period," Jean-Pierre added.
What's Next?
The NABJ said in an announcement Monday that Harris was also invited to attend Wednesday's convention. Scott said before Trump's Q&A began that the organization is "currently in conversation" with Harris' team to "schedule a Q&A either in person or virtually in September."
Update 07/31/24, 4:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.
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