NABJ and Trump: Journalism and hostility

Yesterday, a fiery test was held, not only for Donald Trump but also for the National Association of Black Journalists.

In my view, the organization with "journalists" in its name did not perform well.

Nor was it Trump’s finest hour.

I disagree with the post-game analysis that Trump's attendance at the Chicago gathering was an attempt to appeal to his MAGA base by provoking conflict with Black people.

The passing of the torch to Kamala Harris has disrupted the calculation of Joe Biden's Black support in the polls, which was previously at levels not seen for a Republican in decades.

In my view, Trump believed that he was taking a risk by entering a hostile environment, expecting to face criticism but hoping to gain recognition for his efforts to support historically Black colleges and universities.

There was a sense of unrest among NABJ members regarding the opportunity to interrogate a former president who is the GOP nominee.

The group’s co-chair resigned, in part because of the invitation.

April Ryan, a White House reporter for The Grio, tweeted that the invite is an affront to the organization's values and a slap in the face to the Black women journalists (NABJ journalists of the year) who had to protect themselves from the wrath of the Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy the nation.

No bias there, right?

The panel commenced with Fox's Harris Faulkner.

Rachel Scott of ABC delivered an indictment rather than asking a question.

"You have made false claims about your rivals, including Nikki Haley and former President Barack Obama, stating that they were not born in the United States, which is untrue. You have told American-born congresswomen of color to go back to their countries of origin, used derogatory language to describe black district attorneys, attacked black journalists, calling them a loser and their questions stupid and racist, dined with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. Now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should they trust you after using such language?"

Trump's reaction: "I've never been asked a question in such a terrible manner. It's the first question. You don't even greet me with 'hello' or 'how are you.' Are you from ABC? I think they're a fake news network. I came here in good faith, but it's disgraceful."

Trump claimed he was invited under false pretenses because he was told he had to be there in person. However, after rejecting a virtual appearance by Harris, the group changed its mind and allowed it.

Trump’s biggest misstep came after another question by Rachel Scott.

"Is it true," she inquired, "that Vice President Kamala Harris was chosen solely due to her race and gender?"

Trump's response: "She has always identified as Indian and has only ever promoted Indian heritage. I didn't realize she was black until recently when she turned black. Now she wants to be known as black. So, I'm not sure if she's Indian or black."

Scott interjected: 'She has always identified as Black and went to a historically Black college.'

"Trump stated, "I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went. She became a Black person.""

It is not appropriate to question the racial identity of a Black woman who attended Howard University in order to gain acceptance in that community.

But it was not a great day for NABJ either.

While scrolling through X, I quickly found several controversial past statements made by Harris within a few minutes.

"THE ROOT: ’Should black people get reparations?’

"Reparations are necessary, says Kamala Harris."

"Kamala Harris advocates for mandatory gun confiscation and plans to implement it through executive action within her first 100 days in office."

"As president, Kamala Harris pledged to exclude transgender offenders from incarceration."

"Kamala boasts about her efforts to guarantee that all transgender inmates in the prison system receive taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries."

The RNC, Trump campaign, or conservative groups posted these, but they received minimal media attention.

It may come as a surprise that many voters do not prioritize flip-flops. Despite this, it is worth noting that Donald Trump was once a Democrat and supported abortion rights. He also donated money to Kamala Harris when she served as a California official.

Americans are more interested in future plans than past actions.

While the mainstream media don't much care, it's helpful to provide an explanation.

During my interview with Donald Trump, I inquired about his decision to ban TikTok as president and his current stance on it. He explained that it would give an unfair advantage to Facebook, which is optional but at least he had a justification.

Despite being criticized for not answering questions, Harris has continued to communicate with her traveling press corps off the record.

The Trump campaign seized the opportunity to respond to her taunts about why he wouldn't debate her.

Kamala has not conducted any interviews or press conferences after taking power ten days ago, indicating fear.

"Is Kamala attempting to set a precedent by being the first significant nominee to field no questions from the media?"

I really hope that’s not the case.