Former President Trump clashed with an ABC News reporter at a rally for black journalists on Wednesday, blasting the reporter’s “disgraceful” question about why black voters should trust him to run for another term.
ABC News’ Rachel Scott began her question-and-answer session with President Trump by citing his past comments spreading conspiracy theories about former President Obama’s birthplace, his calls for some Democratic lawmakers to “go back” to their home countries, and his meeting with white supremacists at Mar-a-Lago.
“Why should black voters trust you?” Scott asked.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked such terrible questions. The first question, they don’t even say, hi, how are you? Are you from ABC? I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network. It’s a disgrace because I came here feeling good. I love the black people of this country and I’ve done a lot for the black people of this country,” Trump said.
The event began more than an hour later than scheduled, which Trump and his team blamed on technical issues at the convention. Trump also complained that he was at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention while his rival, Vice President Harris, was not.
NABJ leadership said it was working with Harris’ team to schedule an online or in-person interview in September, but the two sides were unable to secure Harris’ appearance this week.
“I think that’s a very mean question,” Trump said. “I think it’s embarrassing, especially when you’re 35 minutes late and you start the question session in such a hostile manner.”
Trump was interviewed at the NABJ conference, moderated by three journalists: ABC’s Rachel Scott, Semaphore’s Kadia Goba and Fox News host Harris Faulkner.
His appearance at the event drew backlash from several black journalists, who questioned why the organization would invite a former president who has a history of attacking news organizations, particularly journalists of color.
Organizers defended their decision to invite Trump, citing the value of interviewing a potential White House candidate.
