GOP nominee Donald Trump found himself in some hot water this week after a combative appearance at a conference this week.
At the conference for the National Association of Black Journalists held in Chicago this week, Trump only appeared for 30 minutes. But, in that short amount of time, he not only said some questionable things, but he also lambasted some of the moderators.
Rachel Scott of ABC News asked the former president about how some Republicans were calling Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, a “DEI hire” and whether he thought that was acceptable.
Multiple times, Trump asked her to define what DEI meant, and she clarified multiple times that she was referring to “diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Trump then went on an attack of Harris about her identity. The vice president is of Jamaican and Indian descent.
Trump said:
“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?”
He then suggested Harris’ identity needed to be looked into, adding:
“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 went, she became a Black person.”
That response generated a lot of gasps from the audience. Scott then pushed back on Trump, using the fact that Harris attended a historically Black university.
While that was probably the biggest headline grabber of the day, it was by no means the only thing that Democrats have jumped all over Trump for.
He shook hands with Scott immediately after taking the stage, but then criticized her for what her first question was, which is why Black voters should trust him when he’s described Black journalists and politicians as “loser,” “rabid” and “animal” in the past.
He responded:
“Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question 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.”
Later in the appearance, Trump said that he was “the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”
Even though it’s believed that Trump picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate because he believes Vance should succeed him in the White House — should the pair win this November — he didn’t seem to back him much when questioned about him.
Harris Faulkner, an anchor from Fox News, asked whether Vance would be ready to serve as president. Trump responded:
“Historically, the vice president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact. I mean, virtually no impact … virtually never has it mattered.”
