Black journalists were already pissed off that Donald Trump was invited to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention that they look forward to each summer. The mood in the convention center of Hilton Chicago was one of skepticism and annoyance — which grew as the delay of Trump’s scheduled noon arrival grew to nearly 90 minutes, pushing back the convention’s other scheduled events.
Then Trump lived up to everyone’s concerns by immediately gaslighting moderator Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, by calling her introductory question “rude” and “disgraceful.”
NABJ typically invites both Democrats and Republicans to be questioned about their presidential platforms at its convention. However, some NABJ members are now saying it is time to break with journalistic tradition to interview both sides, given how Trump treats African Americans, women, journalism and the truth.
“Trump has worked both sides to his advantage every time,” said Sonya Ross, a former White House correspondent who is a member and former chair of NABJ’s Political Journalism Task Force. “No amount of questioning Trump gets you anywhere. It is a waste of energy and time. They would have been better off doing a whole panel on the new dynamics of this election.”
Ross also questioned why NABJ would jeopardize its own credibility by giving its platform to “someone with no credibility.”
Like several NABJ members, Ross said her primary objection was how Trump treated Black women journalists like Yamiche Alcindor, Abby Phillip and April Ryan while he was president.
Some of this behavior came through during the panel discussion, which also included Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on FOX News, and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor. Trump deflected many questions and repeatedly returned to his criticism of Scott, calling ABC “fake news.” He’d also reportedly objected to his words being fact-checked in real time by PolitiFact.
Claiming to have improved employment and rescued HBCUs that Trump says were collectively “stone-cold broke,” he boasted that “I’m the best person for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.” His comments drew groans, sighs and laughter from attendees, who had stood in what one called a “ridiculously long” line snaking into a ballroom filled to capacity, as protesters demonstrated outside the building.
“NABJ got played,” one journalist said before Trump’s appearance. “If you look at what Trump immediately said on social media, it was clear what his intention was — to embarrass Kamala Harris. He doesn’t denounce violence against journalists; he has aligned himself with folks who wish Black people harm.”
Trump claimed that he was invited to the convention “under false pretenses” since President Joe Biden had been scheduled to appear in person before bowing out of the campaign. With the tight turnaround, Harris was unable to appear in person and will likely speak to NABJ in September.
The Republican nominee threw a few jabs at Harris. He questioned his opponent’s race and cognition, while acknowledging that he would be 82 years old if elected and saying that he would step aside if age began impairing his performance. “She didn’t pass her law exam,” Trump said of Harris, “so maybe she wouldn’t pass her cognitive exam.” (Harris failed the bar the first time, but passed on her second attempt.)
The “conversation” with Trump ended abruptly just as the journalists were attempting to ask him about Project 2025, the conservative playbook to dismantle the federal government that was prepared by Trump’s inner circle and the Heritage Foundation.
Attendees were audibly disappointed by Trump being pulled off the hook from answering questions about the controversial proposal, as well as by the fact that he was expected to speak for an hour, only to have spoken for half that after such a long wait.