MASTERCLASS: Trump effortlessly handles hostile questions at black journalists conference in Chicago

Donald Trump spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on Wednesday, and as he did, gave a lesson in how to go on offense. Trump has made it a habit to go speak to those who invite him to, likely believing that having the opportunity to be heard, even or especially by those who do not typically wish to listen to him, is worth the risk of being mocked.

The talk with Trump and journalists Rachel Scott of ABC, Harris Faulkner of Fox, and Kadia Goba of Semafor was described as a conversation where the four would discuss "the most pressing issues facing the Black community." Trump spoke about the problems with inflation, energy and grocery costs, and law enforcement. 

He went to the Libertarian Convention, which many cautioned him against doing, and in sitting down on stage to answer candid questions from black journalists, despite the backlash, he showed once again that he is fearless.

"Trump goes into hostile territory. The equivalent would be if Kamala went into the NRA. Trump did excellent. 10/10. Trump wins when he plays offense. Play to WIN!" Charlie Kirk said.

"Trump went into a room of black journalists and others and treated them the same way he does everyone else. No pandering," Mike Cernovich said. "No DEI treatment. As equals. Listen to the audience laugh. They didn’t BOOO like they did Mitt Romney under similar circumstances."

The interview opened with hostility as ABC's Scott attempted to grill Trump wihtout providing backup for her assertions.

"It is not lost on us how divided we are as a country. And as you were coming today," Faulkner said, "we really got to see that we were divided along the lines of race, along the lines of gender. And there is this question of: in this moment where we are, why come here, what is your message today?"

"My message is to stop people from invading our country, that are taking, frankly, a lot of problems with it, but one of the big problems and a lot of the journalists in this room, I know and I have great respect for, a lot of the journalists in this room are black," the crowd laughed. "I will tell you that coming, coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking black jobs. You had the best—"
 

"What exactly is a black job, sir?" He was asked by a journalist whose job was to ask him questions at the black journalists conference.

"A black job is anybody that has a job. That's what it is," Trump said, the laughter dying to silence. "Anybody that has a job and they're taking the employment away from black people. They're coming in and they're coming in, they're invading, it's an invasion of millions of people, probably 15, 16, 17 million people. I have a feeling it's much more than that. And everybody has been seeing what's happened. The first group of people, the black population is affected most by that and Kamala is allowing it to happen. She's the border czar, she's the worst border czar in the history of the world. There's never been a border czar like this. She's never even essentially been - She said she was there once but not the right part of the border. So she was a border czar, she's done a horrible job. These people are coming into our country and they're taking black jobs and Hispanic jobs and frankly, they're taking union jobs. Unions have been very badly affected by all of the millions of people that are pouring into our country."

It was not lost on many people that the question being asked about what black jobs are was being asked at a conference for black people with specific jobs. It was also pointed out on X that there is even a website called blackjobs.com specifically for black professionals looking for work.

Trump was asked outright if he feels that "Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a black woman?" The reporter asked Trump if he thought Harris was a "DEI hire." Trump pointed out that he "didn't know she was black" until a few years ago when she began identifying that way as opposed to Indian, which was how she first identified in her political career. It was pointed out that she went to a "historically black college."

"I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't. Because she was Indian all the way. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a black person and I think somebody should look into that, too," Trump said.

Trump was asked about J6, that day in January 2021 when Trump supporters engaged in a riot at the Capitol Building. He was asked about his stance as a "law and order president." In response, he brought up the much more recent attack on the Capitol by lawless individuals who vandalized monuments and statues. He also stuck to his guns and said he would pardon detained J6ers. "Absolutely I would," he said.

He got laughs when he said he would bring the cost of energy down so that people could "buy bacon again, so people can buy a ham sandwich again," and got some agreement from the crowd on the increase of grocery costs and opposition to electric vehicle mandates. 

On abortion and the recent controversy surrounding running mate JD Vance's comments on family, Trump said that Democrats are "radical on abortion" and that he'd reduced the radical position among the Republicans. "They're voting," he said of laws across the country where states are deciding how to proceed with abortion, and said the right thing to do is for the people to decide.

On Vance, Trump said, "My interpretation is he's strongly family-oriented but that doesn't mean if you don't have a family there's something wrong with that." He spoke candidly and openly with the reporters about his views, his respect for Vance, and where the two men may disagree.

There was a mass protest among the members of the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday when Trump was announced. Karen Attiah, Washington Post columnist and co-chair of the event, said she would step down over it. In a post, she said "To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format."

Perhaps Attiah isn't a believer in the Washington Post motto "democracy dies in darkness."

"We look forward to our attendees hearing from former President Trump on the critical issues our members and their audiences care about most," said NABJ President Ken Lemon in advance of the interview. He said that the goal was to give members the chance "to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know."

In advance of the interview, Femi Redwood, chair of the NAJB's LGBTQ+ task force, said "As the Chair of NABJ’s LGBTQ+ Task Force, I’m disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him."