{"id":3352,"date":"2024-07-31T19:12:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T00:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/?p=3352"},"modified":"2024-08-01T11:11:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T16:11:47","slug":"trump-panel-becomes-contentious-at-nabj-2024-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/trump-panel-becomes-contentious-at-nabj-2024-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Panel Becomes Contentious at NABJ 2024 Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Khenedi Wright <\/strong>
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Former President Donald J. Trump took the stage at the 2024 NABJ convention in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon, answering questions from three Black women journalists. Earlier this week, it was announced that Trump had formally accepted an invitation to appear at the National Association of Black Journalists\u2019 annual convention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rachel Scott, a senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Harris Faulkner, an anchor of “The Faulkner Focus” and co-host of “Outnumbered” on FOX News; and  Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, moderated a nearly 35-minute intense Q&A session with Trump, who did not take questions from the audience.
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Scott asked the first question, challenging Trump on why Black voters should trust him after his use of disparaging language toward Black people in various professional arenas. Trump reacted negatively to the question, perceiving it as an attack. \u201cWell, first of all, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,\u201d Trump said.
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Although Trump\u2019s appearance was scheduled to last at least one hour, starting at 12:30 p.m., it began after 1 p.m. and ended abruptly before the hour was up.
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Trump, who mostly did not directly answer questions from the moderators, instead argued that, if elected, he would be better for the country as president on issues such as inflation, illegal immigration, and energy. However, he offered no specifics or policy plans. 

The session with Trump took a turn, when the former president questioned Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s identity as a Black woman, suggesting that she had adopted her racial identity for political gain.

\u201cShe was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person,\u201d he said of Ms. Harris, whose mother was Indian American, whose father is Black and who has always identified as a Black woman.
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Goba, another moderator, asked Trump why the police officer who shot Sonya Massey should get immunity. In response, Trump said \u201c\u201cI don’t know the exact case but I saw something and it didn’t look good to me.\u201d Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, was shot and killed in her home by Deputy Sean Grayson of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in Woodside Township near Springfield, Illinois. Grayson has since been fired and indicted with three counts of first-degree murder. 
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Faulkner faced significant criticism for her role as a moderator, with some audience members accusing her of posing softer questions to Trump. The Fox News anchor\u2019s first question was, \u201cWhy come here, what is your message today?\u201d Trump responded that his message was to stop people from entering the United States illegally and taking \u201cBlack jobs.\u201d When asked what he meant by a “Black job,” Trump replied, \u201cA Black job is anybody that has a job.\u201d His response was met with jeers and mocking laughter. 

Vice President Harris, issued a statement after she was targeted multiple times during Trump\u2019s appearance on stage earlier Wednesday afternoon. 
Harris, who did not address comments Trump made about her directly, spoke to the overall tone of Trump\u2019s remarks at the convention.

\u201cThe hostility Donald Trump 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,\u201d Harris\u2019s statement read. \u201cToday\u2019s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump\u2019s MAGA rallies this entire campaign.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to NABJ Monitor Podcast: Donald Trump at NABJ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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