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Wednesday morning, I read this Page Six story about the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) embroiled in a big controversy. The NABJ’s annual convention is being held in Chicago this week, and the organization extended an invitation to Donald Trump to sit for a Q&A session before an audience. The fact that NABJ’s leadership invited Trump was the controversy – the man is a bigot, a racist and a misogynist who has a long history of harmful words and actions towards Black and brown people. Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah stepped down as co-chair of the NABJ convention. It’s a real controversy within the NABJ community, whether their organization should give Trump any kind of platform. My take? I’m going to stay out of Black folks’ business and I’ll wait to see how it all plays out. I strongly suspect that NABJ’s leadership will be in flux shortly.
In any case, Trump accepted the invitation, which was his first mistake. His second mistake was believing he didn’t need to be prepped for this discussion. His third mistake was the 35 minutes he spent on the stage, denigrating Black women, lying about Vice President Kamala Harris and being a complete freak. He was supposed to be up there for an hour but his team pulled him out of there faster than the Secret Service moved on him when he got “shot.” Trump was absolutely catastrophic on that stage. Aaron Rupar created a supercut of Trump “self immolating.”
Putting Donald Trump on a stage with three Black women was… a choice. As I said, I’m staying out of the NABJ’s business, and I assume that all three women knew what they were going to be put through as they tried to do a Q&A session with Trump. The three women: Rachel Scott, Harris Faulkner and Kadia Goba. Scott is the one moderating and sitting the closest to Trump. After he disparaged the NABJ, ABC News and the journalists personally, he then turned his racist ire to Vice President Kamala Harris. That’s the big headline. Trump said, on stage, “Is she Indian or is she Black? She was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden she made a turn and became a Black person.” Kamala Harris is both Indian and Black. Her father was Jamaican, her mother was Indian. Kamala Harris has always proudly identified as both Indian and Black. She graduated from Howard, an HBCU. She is a member of a Black sorority, AKA. Here was the response from the Harris campaign:
“The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people.
“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.
“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign. It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.”
I understand the Harris campaign using this moment to press this giant p-ssy on the debate, but I also just kind of wish the campaign had let Trump’s words hang in the air for a moment. He could have gone in so many other directions, but no, he decided to question Kamala Harris’s Blackness and status as a biracial woman. Like… is that the plan? Is that the scheme? Are the Republicans going to spend the next three months claiming that Kamala Harris is not, in fact, a Black and Indian-American woman?
We now know Kamala’s brave story. When did the rest of you “turn” black? How old were you? Where were you when the blackness finally took over your body? Share your stories. This is a safe space. #WhenITurnedBlack pic.twitter.com/URBx3fqcbh
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) July 31, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Former US President Donald J Trump makes an early appearance on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Fiserv Forum on Monday, July 15, 2024. This is Trumps first appearance since a rally in Pennsylvania, where he sustained injuries from an alleged bullet grazing his ear. Trump also named United States Senator JD Vance Republican of Ohio as his Vice Presidential running mate. Copyright: xAnnabellexGordonx/,Image: 890100277, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Annabelle Gordon / CNP /MediaPunch / Avalon
Former US President Donald J Trump makes an early appearance on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Fiserv Forum on Monday, July 15, 2024. This is Trumps first appearance since a rally in Pennsylvania, where he sustained injuries from an alleged bullet grazing his ear. Trump also named United States Senator JD Vance Republican of Ohio as his Vice Presidential running mate. Copyright: xAnnabellexGordonx/,Image: 890100421, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Annabelle Gordon / CNP /MediaPunch / Avalon
Former US President Donald J Trump makes an early appearance on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Fiserv Forum on Monday, July 15, 2024. This is Trumps first appearance since a rally in Pennsylvania, where he sustained injuries from an alleged bullet grazing his ear. Trump also named United States Senator JD Vance Republican of Ohio as his Vice Presidential running mate. Copyright: xAnnabellexGordonx/,Image: 890103425, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Annabelle Gordon / CNP /MediaPunch / Avalon
Former US President Donald J Trump speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Fiserv Forum on Thursday, July 18, 2024. Monday night was Trumps first appearance since a rally in Pennsylvania, where he sustained injuries from an alleged bullet grazing his ear. Trump recounted the story in his speech, and also talked about Biden, immigration, and other topics. Copyright: xAnnabellexGordonx/,Image: 890889831, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Annabelle Gordon / CNP /MediaPun / Avalon
