“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this” is a cliche.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, I watched Donald Trump’s controversial appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this.
Or maybe in Trump World, it’s just another Wednesday. Who knows?
Seriously, even by Trump’s standards, this was bizarre at best, painful at worst. He insulted Vice President Kamala Harris — again refusing to pronounce her first name correctly, though that was hardly the worst of what he said — and questioning her racial identity.
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What?
“I think it is fair to say … this went sideways, and it went sideways pretty quickly,” Kristen Holmes said on CNN after it was over.
Trump's NABJ appearance was a train wreck from the start
Pretty quickly? How about right away? What a train wreck — fascinating television, sure, but an absolute disaster.
Rachel Scott of ABC News, one of three on-stage moderators, wasted no time talking about the elephant in the room. Some people, including many NABJ members, didn’t think Trump should be there at all, she said, noting that Trump had pushed false claims that political opponents weren’t born in the U.S., that he told congresswomen of color to go back where they came from, used words like “animal” and “rabid” to describe Black district attorneys, etc.
“Why,” Scott asked, “should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”
Why indeed?
“Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, a first question,” Trump said.
And we were off and running.
“Are you from ABC?” he asked Scott. “Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network.” He called her question disgraceful and then jumped to his typical boasts — “I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country” — and bashing President Joe Biden.
It was another example, in a long line of them, of why it’s difficult to interview Trump in any meaningful way. At least when he went to his go-to lie about abortion, that some Democrats want to allow it in the ninth month of pregnancy, or even after birth — this makes no sense, but it’s a talking point among Republicans — Scott called him out on it.
Harris Faulkner of Fox News was praised by ... Fox News
Harris Faulkner of Fox News was another moderator, along with Kadia Goba of Axios. Trump knew he had something of an ally in Faulkner, whom he complimented as a good journalist. She went softer on him but not completely so. Joe Concha later praised her on Fox News, because of course he did, saying her questions were “spot on” because she asked about policy. “Other questions, however, seemed to be more in the debate mode with the president,” Concha said.
Please. First off, it's former president. But this is absurd. Tough and fair questions, which, again, Scott’s were, are a staple of responsible journalism. Buttering up your political meal ticket is not.
Speaking of, Bret Baier on Fox News said afterward, “That was quite something. It really was.” And then he moved into compliment mode: “Obviously, he went into the proverbial lion’s den with some of those questions. This is what the former president does.”
At least he got the “former” part right.
Scott asked Trump if he thought Harris was “a DEI hire,” as some Republicans have said — does he think she is on the ballot only because she is Black?
Trump’s answer was a jaw-dropper. He said he had known her a bit for years.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said. “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?”
Say what? Seriously, this, in front of a room full of Black journalists. Talk about not reading the room — and that was the least of what’s wrong with it. Scott dutifully pointed out that Harris has always identified as Black.
What else could she do? What can anyone do?
'This was insane'
“This was insane,” Michael Hardaway, a former staffer for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Dick Durbin, said on MSNBC. “And the reality is that the NABJ should have anticipated that this would happen. His entire goal … is to go in front of this audience of Black people and insult them to play to his MAGA base on the right. It’s horrifically insane.
“This was a horrific situation that was completely preventable, and it’s a very sad thing for the NABJ and this country.”
If you’re wondering why the NABJ invited Trump in the first place, they have invited presidential candidates to appear since 1976. Harris could not attend, but is in talks to appear virtually in September. Trump decried the decision, saying he was told Harris would be there in person, so he showed up, too.
Shermichael Singleton, a Republican strategist and CNN contributor, said afterward that he would have advised against having Trump appear.
“This just wasn’t good,” he said. “To question the vice president’s ethnicity, I can’t even say what I really want to say about this.”
Why not, he was asked?
“Because it’s television and it’s words I probably shouldn’t use on live television,” he said.
At least someone got the memo.
So much for unity:Trump's 'remarkably dishonest acceptance speech' at the RNC
Reach Goodykoontz atbill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook:facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X:@goodyk. Subscribe tothe weekly movies newsletter.
