Donald Trump was over an hour late for his Wednesday speech at the National Association of Black Journalists conference. He had kept the crowd of interrogators waiting.
He said the delay wasn’t because the NABJ and his campaign were arguing behind the scenes over whether he could be fact-checked in real-time. Instead, he said it was because the organizers couldn’t get the audio equipment ready in time for his very controversial panel talk. He yelled, “It’s a shame.”
When ABC’s Rachel Scott started the event by asking the former president why he was addressing the Black journalists, women, and Chicagoans in the crowd who have often been rude to him, Trump called the question “horrible” and Scott “nasty” before turning up the bluster level to 11
He said that for “the Black population,” he was the best president since Abraham Lincoln. He didn’t agree with the idea that Kamala Harris would say she is Black. “She was Indian, and all of a sudden she turned around and left.” He said the word so badly that it sounded like he was coughing up a hairball: buh-LAAAAA-kuh. The crowd’s reactions changed all the time, going from shocked laughs to deep groans.
At one point, the subject turned to Sonya Massey, who was the most recent Black person to be killed by cops without a warrant. “I’m not sure about the specifics…” Which one do you mean? The one with the water?” Trump’s question made people gasp.
Before that, a lot of NABJ members were very angry because they thought that having Trump at the annual conference and job fair was against the group’s values. Karen Attiah of The Washington Post resigned as co-chair of the convention’s organizing committee to protest. She was one of many Black journalists who spoke out against the association’s choice to even invite the likely Republican candidate.
Trump is on stage losing votes in real time
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) July 31, 2024
The head of NABJ, Ken Lemon, said that the choice was in line with a long history of questioning national party leaders, from Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to Barack Obama and Bob Dole. Lemon also said that Harris was asked, but her campaign would only agree to a video interview. Trump, on the other hand, was happy to be there in person. How could he miss the chance to meet “the Blacks” in person?
Trump hasn’t been very subtle about trying to get Black people to vote for him. For example, he gave former video vixen Amber Rose a speaking part at the Republican National Convention and used his criminal record and failed assassination attempt as badges of honor.
Some people in charge of the NABJ, like Lemon, saw the Trump group as a chance to hold him accountable. In the end, though, it was the people who came that caused problems. To make room for Trump, many panels were pushed back or even canceled, which caused more people to leave the conference.
People waited for hours to get into the venue, which was a huge hall at the end of a beautiful ballroom. It’s a wonder more didn’t change their plans earlier. The Secret Service ran the security check, which was more thorough than most airport checks. This was still fresh in the minds of some guests who had rushed in right from the plane.
Funk music played over Trump’s appearance, making it feel more like a show as more people came in. A lot of people pulled out their phones to take pictures with Trump’s empty stage chair in the background. On the screen behind them, there was a big picture of the NABJ meeting logo with the words “Journalism over disinformation” written across it. It makes sense that people would be angry.
Brittny McGraw, who is in charge of news at NASA, told me, “I don’t know if surreal is the right word, but maybe that’s the word I will use.”
When Trump finally got on stage, he played the hits. He promised (again) to close the border, cut inflation (how?), and “drill, baby, drill.” He only said mean things about the “rude” Scott when she was up against the three-woman interview team that also included Kadia Goba from Semafor and Harris Faulkner from Fox News. Scott seemed annoyed that she had to go through with this farce and stayed strong even as the attacks got worse.
She cut Trump off in the middle of his tangent so that she could move on to another question before time ran out. Trump yelled, “You’re the one who held me up!” During their back and forth, Trump looked like he was interested in another Black woman.
He could have spent more time attacking Harris if he wasn’t still so set on making fun of Joe Biden for being old. It didn’t matter that all of his whining about not being able to hear the questions on stage made him look even older. It was over after about 35 minutes, which was great.
Also Read: The US Says That Venezuela Rigged Elections And Leaves The Door Open For Sanctions
In theory, having three Black women question Trump should have worked against him. Without a doubt, many of his fans will see this performance as proof that he is healthy enough to face Harris. A lot of people in the room could see through Trump’s bluster, though. He seemed like an old crank who couldn’t hear or think straight without making something racist.
Trump didn’t think twice when Goba asked him how he’d know if he was too old to keep the job. He went after Scott again. “Look, if I went on stage and was treated this badly, I’d be angry,” he said, still irritated by her sharp question. That was the reward the NABJ wanted, and Trump has never looked more weak.
