Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday, Donald Trump was interviewed at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. It did not go well. He fought with the moderator and it turned hostile almost instantly.
The moderator, ABC News' Rachel Scott, noted that Trump had insulted Black prosecutors, the first Black president, and the four members of The Squad, all of whom are minorities. She asked him why Black voters should trust him after that. He replied: "Well first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner." Watch:
Trump called the interview "disgraceful," and said they invited him under false pretenses because he expected Kamala Harris to be there. Actually, most candidates would be happy to be the sole focus of an interview. Trump could have talked about how unemployment was low for Black people during his administration and many other things. Instead he picked a fight with the moderator.
Trump declared that he was the best president for Black Americans since Abraham Lincoln. He said that the invasion of millions of immigrants was taking Black jobs (and got irritated when asked what, exactly, "Black jobs" are). Trump also questioned whether Kamala Harris was Black and mispronounced her name many times. He implied that she was actually an Asian who turned Black for convenience. The moderator pointed out that she attended an HBCU and was a member of a Black sorority. Trump said: "I think somebody ought to look into that, too." When he was asked if Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) was ready to be president on day 1, he didn't answer. He also lied often during the interview, while audience members yelled: "False, false, false." It is an odd way to deal with a demographic group you are trying to win. And they were mostly journalists. You think they might report on the interview?
At yesterday's White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "As a person of color, as a Black woman who is in this position that is standing before you at this podium, behind this lectern, what he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive, it's insulting."
When we heard that Trump was addressing a group of Black journalists, our initial assumption was that he'd found some sort of group for right-leaning Black journalists, and he was going to use his appearance before them to show how much he embraces "diversity." We were shocked on finding out the group he was speaking to is NOT conservative. Given his general views on race, not to mention his current campaign of raging against Harris, there was virtually no chance this could have ended well. This whole thing was an unforced error that is going to cost Trump Black votes. Surely his campaign manager told him to be nice to Black people and talk about all the good things he did for them as president. He didn't even try.
That the appearance did not go well, and led to Trump being widely lambasted, did not stop him from declaring victory, however. He used his officially-below-$30-a-share social media platform to announce: "The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!" If that is "CRUSHED IT!," we'd hate to see what blowing it looks like.
And yesterday's less-than-stellar appearance follows on the heels of an appearance where Trump shared his opinion that Kamala Harris hates Jewish people, and agreed with his right-wing interviewer that Harris' Jewish husband doesn't count because he's "a crappy Jew." You see a theme here: Barack Obama isn't really an American, Kamala Harris isn't really Black, Doug Emhoff isn't really a Jew. We don't think this helps attract votes to the Trump ticket. However, it could drive them away, and it REALLY could motivate Harris voters to get to the polls.
Now that Trump is experiencing some adversity, he's completely dumped the "I'm a new man" bit, and he's reverted to doing what his gut and his id tell him to do. That worked for him, just barely, in 2016 when he was up against a very unpopular opponent. It may be less effective in 2024, particularly given that his opponent is not historically unpopular, and is currently climbing dramatically in terms of approval rating. (V & Z)