A Q&A session with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump got to a heated start Wednesday as the former president accused the National Association of Black Journalists of inviting him under “false pretenses” and beginning the panel over an hour late “because they couldn’t get their equipment working.”
As the panel got underway, Trump called into question presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ racial identity, asking whether she was Black or Indian and suggesting she “happened to turn” Black.
The moderated event with Trump began over an hour later than the scheduled noon start as the kick-off for the annual convention at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave. The former president was invited by the association to answer questions about “the most pressing issues facing the Black community,” according to an announcement.
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, moderated the discussion.
Reporters tweeted Wednesday the session began late because Trump demanded the association not conduct live fact checking during the panel. PolitiFact was providing fact-checking updates, according to a statement from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Then, after an introductory question from Scott, Trump accused the convention of running behind schedule “because they couldn’t get their equipment working.”
The association invited Trump “under false pretenses” that Harris, the current vice president, was going to attend, “but she’s not coming,” Trump said.
Association leaders said Wednesday morning they were “in conversation” with Harris for a virtual or in-person Q&A “at some point in September 2024,” according to a statement.
Scott began the panel by addressing “the elephant in the room” and asking Trump about his claims former President Barack Obama wasn’t an American citizen, his shouts to congresswomen to “go back where they’re from,” Trump’s use of terms such as “animal” and “rabid” to describe Black district attorneys and his alleged dinners with white nationalists.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” Trump said before calling ABC “fake news.”
A reporter asked Trump if it was “acceptable language” for his supporters and Republicans on Capitol Hill to label Harris, who is the first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president, a “DEI hire.”
Trump asked the reporter to “define DEI,” before saying he “didn’t know [Harris] was Black.
“I’ve known her for a long time, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said. “I didn’t know she was Black because she was Indian 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?”
Harris, whose parents are Jamaican and Indian, long has said she identifies as a Black woman who grew up in a multicultural family. PolitiFact debunked Trump’s claims Wednesday and has previously done so with similar attacks against Harris.
The panel of journalists also drilled Trump on the nation’s divisive state, rising credit debt, the former president’s promises to militarize the police and his demands that President Joe Biden take a cognitive test because of his age 81.
Trump, 78, will be 82 at the end of his term if elected in November.
Trump was met from cheers from supporters and occasional “boos” from other attendees as he rambled responses.
“We love you!” a woman wearing a red hat yelled.
Goba brought up the case of former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, who shot and killed Sonya Massey in her Illinois home on July 6 after Massey called 911 to report an intruder. Goba asked Trump if officers like Grayson would be granted immunity — a reference to Trump’s pledge to give police “immunity from prosecution.”
Trump said he didn’t “know of the exact case” but “it didn’t look good to me.”
“I’m talking about people in much different cases than that,” he said. “We need people to protect ourselves.”
Trump said Chicago had 117 shootings and 17 deaths over the July 4 weekend. According to previous reports from ABC7, 109 people were shot, 19 fatally, over that holiday weekend.
Trump also claimed he has been “the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln,” drawing immediate applause and cheers from a group of supporters seated together.
Multiple NABJ panels were rescheduled or canceled Wednesday following the panel.
Protesters — And Trump Supporters — Gather Outside Convention
Michigan Avenue was bustling more than normal Wednesday morning as hundreds swarmed Downtown in anticipation of the event with Trump.
The National Association of Black Journalists announced Monday evening it would kick off its annual convention and career fair with a Q&A panel featuring the Republican presidential candidate noon Wednesday. The announcement was met with fiery pushback from local and national reporters — and Chicagoans also expressed concerns about Trump’s visit given the city’s rocky history with the former president.
About 100 protesters gathered outside the Hilton Chicago, and Trump supporters could be seen waving banners and gathering near the convention.
Many of the protesters were with the Coalition to March on the DNC, an organization of more than 150 leftist groups planning to rally against the Democratic National Convention in August in Chicago.
Two of those groups, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, were represented at Wednesday’s rally. Although the coalition’s main goals align with protesting the Democratic Party, they’re unified in their opposition to Trump’s policies, which organizers at the rally called “racist” and “fascistic.”
Protesters chanted disparaging remarks about Trump as well as pro-Palestinian slogans as Palestinian and Irish flags flapped in the wind. A group of brass players gathered to play a rendition of “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, singing, “Trump’s not like us!”
“The main reason we’re here is to tell Trump that racists and fascists aren’t welcome in the city of Chicago,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the DNC Coalition and National Chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. “The other thing we want the world to know is that even though we’re the main organizers in the coalition to march on the DNC, both parties are complicit in the genocide of Palestinians and sending weapons to Israel.”
Some protesters objected to the convention giving Trump more media attention.
“The way Trump won in 2016 was because the media gave him such a platform, so anytime he shows up, we’re going to be out here because we believe that the real opposition to Trump and the Republicans comes from the grassroots organizing, not the Democrats,” said Kobi Guillory, an organizer with the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Oppression.
Some supporters of the Republican nominee gathered in Trump-themed gear hours before Wednesday’s event. A few far right protesters appeared in front of the hotel, chanting “Black MAGA!” to a small crowd that formed.
Though Trump’s presence drew a large crowd at the convention, attendees’ feelings were mixed. A convention dedicated to uplifting Black media members will now draw a national crowd, create safety concerns and give center stage to someone who routinely disparages Black journalists, reporters said.
Leaders of the National Association of Black Journalists defended the decision, saying they typically invite presidential nominees from both major parties in an election year.
Issues Impacting ‘Black Community’ On Agenda
Heavy security checks monitored by Chicago police and the Secret Service greeted journalists as they entered the hotel’s ballroom Wednesday.
“We have additional Chicago police resources in the area to protect all NABJ convention attendees, as well as everyone who lives and works in the area,” police said in a statement to Block Club. “We are working closely with our partners at the Secret Service to ensure the site is secured.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson tweeted Tuesday that the city was prepared to “uphold safety” during Trump’s appearance.
“My administration’s values and practice are in complete opposition to former President Donald Trump’s agenda, but I want the people of Chicago to know that City departments and agencies are fully prepared to uphold safety during his scheduled visit on Wednesday,” the mayor said Tuesday.
The Q&A with Trump was to answer questions about “the most pressing issues facing the Black community,” according to a statement from the National Association of Black Journalists.
PolitiFact, Black News and Views and Student Multimedia Projects were providing live fact-checking updates, according to a statement from the National Association of Black Journalists.
The event was not open to the public but was streamed on the organization’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Trump frequently derides Chicago and rarely comes to the city, which has overwhelmingly voted for his opponents in the past two presidential elections.
Trump came to town as president in 2019 to speak at a conference for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, criticizing Supt. Eddie Johnson and saying “Afghanistan is a safer place” than Chicago. Before that, he’d not held a public event in Chicago since protesters forced him to cancel a rally in March 2016.
Charles Thrush contributed reporting.