Former President Donald Trump criticized ABC News reporter Rachel Scott on Wednesday for how she questioned him to start his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago.
Trump appeared for a moderated Q&A session hosted by Scott, Fox News’ Harris Faulkner and Semafor’s Kadia Goba. Scott began the event by recounting examples of alleged racism by the former president, with Trump calling her statements and question “a disgrace.” (RELATED: Democrats Revert To Their Favorite Pastime With Segregated Rallies)
WATCH:
‘I Think It’s A Disgrace’: Trump Unloads On Reporter At Black Journalist Event For ‘Nasty Question’ pic.twitter.com/i7eWvdEt7a
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 31, 2024
“Mr. president, we so appreciate you giving us an hour of your time. I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. 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,” Scott said. “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 ‘stupid and racist.’ You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at you’re Mar-a-Lago resort,” she continued. “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?”
Vice President Kamala Harris also received an invitation to speak at the conference, but did not attend and will possibly speak to the group virtually after the conference.
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question so in such a horrible manner, the first question. You don’t even say ‘hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC, because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in good spirit,” Trump said. “I love the black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the black population of this country, including employment, including opportunity zones with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for black workers and black entrepreneurs.”
“I’ve done so much … historically black colleges and universities were out of money, they were stone cold broke and I saved them and I gave them long-term financing and nobody else was doing it,” he added. “I think it’s a very rude introduction. I don’t know exactly why you would do something like that, and let me go a step further. I was invited here and I was told my opponent whether it was Biden or Kamala. I was told my opponent was going to be here. It turned out my opponent isn’t here. You invited me under false pretense. And then you said, ‘you can’t do it with Zoom.’ Well, where’s Zoom. She’s going to do it with Zoom and she’s not coming.”
The event started late and Trump said it was because the event had an equipment issue and not because he was tardy.
“I think it’s a very nasty question … I have been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln. That’s my answer,” he said. “And for you to start off a question and answer period, especially when you’re 35 minutes late, because you couldn’t get your equipment to work, in such a hostile manner, I think it’s a disgrace. I really do.”
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