The Trump and Harris campaigns were at each other’s throats on Wednesday afternoon after Trump made some fiery remarks at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago, with the Republican vice presidential nominee slamming Harris as a “coward.”
“Throughout his presidency, Trump has personally attacked and insulted Black journalists, failed Black families and left our entire country struggling to climb out of the hole he left behind,” said Michael Tyler, a spokesman for Harris’ campaign. He said in a statement after the event.
“Today’s outrage is just a glimpse of the confusion and division that has characterized Trump’s MAGA rallies throughout this campaign,” Tyler continued. “It’s also exactly what the American people will see from the other side of the debate stage as VP Harris lays out her vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop maneuvering and actually show up to the debate on September 10th.”
Trump’s running mate, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, fired back, saying the former president “showed his courage by stepping up to the NABJ conference and taking on tough questions, while Kamala Harris has shown signs of cowardice and continues to hide from all scrutiny and an unfriendly media.”
One of those five Democrats could be Harris’ running mate.
During the event, Trump clashed with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, accusing her of asking “nasty questions” and calling the Disney-owned network “fake news.”
Trump took part in a question-and-answer session with Scott and Semaphore reporter Kadia Goba. Fox News Channel Moderator Harris Faulkner. The event had caused controversy even before it began, as many black journalists had opposed Trump’s invitation to begin with. When the event began, Scott kicked it off by “addressing the elephant in the room.”
“There were many people who thought it was inappropriate for you to be here today.” Scott said“You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color who are U.S. citizens to go back where they came from.
“You use words like animal and violent to describe a black district attorney. You call black journalists losers and say their questions are stupid and racist. You have dinner with white supremacists at the Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question is, why are black voters going to trust you when you use language like that as you urge your black supporters to vote?”
Trump clashes with ABC News reporter over ‘nasty questions’, slams ‘Fake News Network’ in heated Q&A
Former President Trump clashed with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago on Wednesday, accusing her of asking “nasty questions” and calling the Disney-owned network “fake news.” (Fox News)
Trump fired back at Scott, saying he’d “never been asked a worse question.”
“I love the black population of this country,” Trump said. “I’ve done a lot for the black population of this country, including jobs, opportunity zones, working with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, one of the best programs ever for black workers and black entrepreneurs. I’ve done so much. And I say this, historically black colleges and universities have been underfunded.”
“Let me take it a step further,” Trump added. “I was invited here and was told my opponent was going to be Biden or Kamala. I was told my opponent would be here. Turns out my opponent is not here. You invited me under false pretenses.”
“Then I heard you were 30 minutes late. I respect you so much there’s no way you could be late. They couldn’t get the equipment to work or something.”
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Former President Trump attends the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“Mr. President, I’d appreciate if you could answer the question,” Scott said, again asking why black voters should trust the president for another term.
“I think that’s a very mean question,” Trump shot back. “I answered the question: I was the greatest president for black people since Abraham Lincoln.”
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Former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have all attended NABJ conventions in the past as president or presidential candidate.
“The questions were rude, mean and often took the form of a statement, but we beat them!” Trump said in a Truth Social post after the NABJ event.
Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
