NABJ
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with the National Association of Black Journalists highlighted key points of her proposed presidential policy.
On Tuesday (Sept. 17), Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with a panel of members from the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Democratic presidential nominee answered questions from Gerren Keith Gaynor of theGrio, Politico contributor Eugene Daniels, and NPR Fresh Air co-host Tonya Mosley at public radio station WHHY’s headquarters. The interview was held in front of a live audience, similar to the appearance by former President Donald Trump last month at the NABJ convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Harris got the opportunity to again address Trump’s repeating of false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating dogs and cats, which he did at their presidential debate in that city last week. “It’s a crying shame, what’s happening to those families, those children in that community,” she said, adding: “I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community in Springfield, Ohio, and it’s got to stop. And we’ve got to say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country.”
Harris was also asked about her support for reparations for Black Americans, asking if she would take executive action to create a commission on the subject or leave the process to Congress. “I’m not discounting the importance of any executive action,” she said. “But ultimately Congress, because if you’re going to talk about it in any substantial way, there will be hearings, there will be a level of public education and dialogue.” Harris previously backed the Senate version of H.R. 40, a bill introduced by the late Representative John Conyers of Michigan to establish that federal commission.
The vice president also tackled questions on gun control and abortion and shared her thoughts about questions from some Black men about her trying to get their vote. “I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket,” she said. “Black men are like any other voting group. You gotta earn their vote. So I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black.”
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Source: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Getty
Donald Trump’s controversial appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention happened as scheduled on Wednesday, July 31, and as many predicted, it was a slow-moving, dumpster fire of a train wreck. While the moderators coolly delivered their questions, the ex-president came out defensive, and it was only downhill from there with some new brain-twisting and racist answers mixed in with the usual inflammatory rhetoric you’ve come to expect from the hostile candidate.
It all happened in Chicago, where ABC’s Rachel Scott, FOX News’ Harris Faulkner and Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba were tasked with holding Trump to account in front of a crowd of Black journalists. The jig was already apparent when NABJ announced there would be no questions from the audience.
Renowned political reporter April D. Ryan, has been particularly critical, and candid, about the NABJ’s decision to move ahead with the Q&A despite protestations from most everyone. “Trump came into our home, a Black Press advocacy convention, and insulted us in our face,” tweeted Ryan. “What is worse he was invited to do this by NABJ leadership. Shame!”
And that isn’t hyperbole. Although the convo was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET, it wasn’t until over an hour later that the event properly began. On social media, the rumor was Trump not wanting to be fact-checked was holding up the start. But during the early portion of the chat, Trump claimed the delay was due to the NABJ having issues with their microphones and sound equipment.
As for the interview itself, when Scott came out with a searing question, Trump lost his cool.
“A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals — from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama — saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true,” began Scott. “You have told four congresswomen of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys. You have attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, ‘stupid and racist.’ You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you: Why should Black voters trust you, after you have used language like that?”
The weird and racist factor rose exponentially with Trump responding, “First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner.”
But but wait, it gets worse. Peep some of the weirdest Trump answers in the gallery.
1. Why should Black voters trust you?
Trump even brought out the “fake news” greatest hit of malarkey and also claimed the production was a half-hour later. But the kicker was his assertion that, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”
2. Late in the convo, he was still mad about the first question.
Triggered much? But Scott kept it cool. “I repeated your statement actually,” she said. Welp.
3. Scott corners Trump about his pledge to pardon J6 rioters.
This is an example of the crowd laughing AT you.
4. Kamala Harris once wasn’t Black, allegedly.
In an ultimate sign of disrespect, Donald Trump claimed that he didn’t know that Kamala Harris was Black until a few years ago.
“She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? I respect either one.”
Disgusting.
Fact check, she has always identified as a Black woman and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which she joined while attending Howard University, an HBCU.
5. Trump doesn’t respect Black women.
He claimed he won the classified documents case in Florida. He did not.
7. What about Project 2025?
As soon as Faulkner was poised to ask a question about Project 2025, the interview was over. The jig is sky high.
8. Black jobs crisis?
During his usual border fearmongering, Trump was asked what’s a Black job? His answer: “A Black job is anybody that has a job.”
Thanks for clearing that up, says no one.
9. The whole interview.
A whopping 34 minutes of tomfoolery.
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Vice President Kamala Harris will not be appearing at the NABJ Convention, as organizers deal with the backlash of Donald Trump being invited to speak there.
According to reports, Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists taking place in Chicago. The news comes as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is slated to appear at the convention, sparking a massive backlash and online debate. A source close to the negotiations between the NABJ and Harris’ campaign team confirmed that the vice president’s schedule as her presidential election campaign is building up steam is preventing her from being physically present.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning (July 31), NABJ President Ken Lemon said that the “last update” they had received was that Vice President Harris “would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention.” Another source said that the NABJ had declined the suggestion from Harris’ team for a virtual panel initially, but is now fervently working to convince them to take part in a virtual town hall, claiming her appearance is “pending”. Another factor in the vice president not appearing at the convention, which begins on Wednesday and ends August 4 is her attendance at the funeral of the late Sheila Jackson-Lee, the longtime Congresswoman from Texas.
The NABJ is also dealing with the outrage from journalists and observers over the panel featuring Trump, which will be moderated by Fox News’s Harris Faulkner, ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, and Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba and was announced 48 hours before the convention’s start. NABJ’s political journalism chair, Tia Mitchell, defended the decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “I helped make this call. And it’s in line with invitations NABJ has sent to every presidential candidate for decades. But continue to go off on your feed. I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next President.”
Critics point to Trump’s history of demeaning Black people and his disregard for Black people in the past as a reason to disqualify him from appearing. “If a super conservative white woman can’t get straight answers out of him, what makes you think that three Black women are going to get them?”, journalist Matthew Wright said to The Guardian, citing Trump’s recent interview with Laura Ingraham.
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Source: @nabj / x
The National Association of Black Journalists, widely known as the NABJ, is having its annual convention in Chicago this week but the longstanding organization is contending with a larger matter at the moment. After it was announced that Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump would be in attendance for a Q&A session with Black journalists, observers on X lashed out at the NABJ in outrage.
On Monday (July 29), NABJ officials confirmed that Donald Trump would be attending the opening day of the convention and job fair event, which will not be open to the public but will air online via streaming. Trump did not attend the convention during his four years as president so his inclusion this year raised concerns among some.
The decision to give Trump a platform for his policy messaging ahead of the November elections was seen as an affront to Black women journalists and Black people in general considering Trump’s public record of pointed attacks at Black members of the press.
Tia Mitchell, the Washington correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and member of the NABJ’s Political Task Force, defended the inclusion of Trump via X after the organization received heavy pushback.
“I helped make this call. And it’s in line with invitations NABJ has sent to every presidential candidate for decades, Mitchell wrote in response to one user decrying the Trump session. “But continue to go off on your feed. I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next President.”
Mitchell has since made her X account private after a deluge of comments under her reply.
The issue has developed into a public relations disaster for the association, but NABJ President Ken Lemon did clear up any confusion surrounding chatter that Vice President Kamala Harris was not invited.
Yes we did ask both candidates. Every presidential election year we ask the nominees to attend, Lemon wrote to someone asking a question on X, pinning the reply at the top of his feed.
Part of the fallout includes journalist Karen Attiah resigning as co-chair of NABJ, though still plans to attend.
On X, the decision to give Donald Trump a political platform is being widely discussed. We’ve got the best reactions from all sides below.
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1. April Ryan has been going on.
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