Donald Trump’s Vice President Kamala Harris’s Attempt to Define RaceShe made headlines, of course, including the shocking comment that she “went black” for political reasons. But those disgusting and blatantly racist comments were just a fraction of what Trump said during his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday.
The rest of what he said on that stage was arguably just as bad or worse: he presented himself as the second coming of President Abraham Lincoln, tried to convince black people to hate immigrants, and unwittingly defended a police officer who killed a black woman.
Trump’s appearance doesn’t show where he’s going in this campaign. It shows where he already is.
Watching all of this would be a challenge few could endure. But from the very first moment when Trump called ABC News’ Rachel Scott’s opening question “terrible” and declared that he had “done a lot for the black population in this country,” to the point where his staff chased him off the stage, there was not a single moment that was indefensible.
The part where Trump begins asking the question, “Is she Indian or is she black?” begins at the 5:00 timestamp in the video.
At 7:15, Trump delivers “his message” to blacks. Focuses on convincing black voters that they should be afraid of immigrants. This moment includes.
Trump: My message is, let’s stop the people who are invading our country, who are causing a lot of problems, frankly. But one of the biggest problems is that I know and respect many of the journalists in this room. Many of the journalists in this room are black. Let me tell you that millions of people who come from the border are taking black jobs. You were the best.
Scott: What exactly is a black job?
TRUMP: Black jobs means everyone who has a job. That’s it. Everyone who has a job. And they’re taking jobs away from black people.
Trump continued: false claim Harris is the Biden administration’s “border czar” and has claimed that millions of Black people are losing their jobs as illegal immigrants “invade” the country. Then Trump claimed that other countries are emptying their prisons and mental hospitals into the United States.
At 13:15 in the video, Semafor’s Kadia Goba asks Trump about the police officer who killed Sonya Massey. unarmed black woman An Illinois woman was shot in her home after calling 911 for help. The shooting occurred Previous 911 calls This is what Macy’s mother begged the police not to hurt her. Bodycam footage It showed that Massey was following police directions at the time of the shooting. Her murder Day of Mourning and Continued Protests Nationwide, the sheriff’s deputy involved in the incident was fired. He is now accused of murder..
GOBA: You said that if you win, the police will be exempt from prosecution. In your opinion, why should such a police officer be exempt?
Trump: Immunity? I don’t know the exact case, but I saw something, and it looked bad to me, it looked bad. You’re talking about water, right?
At this point, Trump made a gesture that seemed to indicate he was throwing a bucket of water. Massey was following police instructions to remove a pot of boiling water from the stove when she was shot. The deputy who killed Massey claims he was afraid she would throw water at him.
At the 17:30 mark, Scott asks Trump about Vance’s “childless cat lady” comment and his attacks on people without children. Trump defends Vance as simply “family-oriented.”
At 25:30, Trump declares that it is actually the Democrats who take a “radical” stance on abortion.
Trump: The Democrats have a problem. I think they are radical on abortion because they allow abortions in the ninth month of pregnancy. They allow the death of babies after they are born.
Scott tries to interrupt Trump to point out the facts, but he continues, “According to the governor of Virginia, they are allowing babies to die after birth.” A well-known and frequently used lie His.
At the 32:10 mark in the video, as his appearance was coming to a close, Scott asked Trump about his promise to pardon the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. She looked at the list of injured police officers and asked if Trump would pardon them if he were re-elected.
President Trump responded by claiming other protesters had done worse.
Scott: Sir, my question is about the mob that assaulted the police. Do you forgive them?
TRUMP: Oh, of course I would. If they are innocent—if they are innocent, I will pardon them.
SCOTT: They were convicted.
TRUMP: And the Supreme Court just—well, they were convicted by a very, very strict system. They—the people who tried to burn down Minneapolis, who took over a large part of Seattle, why didn’t anything happen? Why—
SCOTT: But sir, what we’re talking about is people beating police officers with flagpoles and dragging them down the stairs.
TRUMP: We’re talking about federal buildings.
Scott: It’s on the video. Did you see the video, sir? Do you forgive the mob?
TRUMP: Really, really? Well, they shot a young woman in the face who was protesting. They shot her in the face. You know, nobody died that day. You know. But in Seattle, people died. Nobody died. But in Minneapolis, people died. People died in Minneapolis. And nothing happened. Nobody said anything. And nothing happened to those people.
[…]
Trump: Nothing is perfect in life, but there are people… Five days ago in Washington, D.C., they were fighting and fighting with the police. They were spraying and destroying. Five days ago in Washington, D.C., they desecrated our monuments, and nothing happened to them. And you have to. You can’t have two judicial systems.
More than 10,000 people Arrests were made nationwide during the summer of 2020 protests against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd. One person was killed in Seattle when a car plowed into protesters, and the driver Sentenced to 78 months in prison. One person died in a fire in Minneapolis, and the perpetrator was He was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. At least 23 people Arrested in Washington last week during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
The idea that violence and criminal activity during those protests was ignored and that only those who rioted on January 6 should be held accountable is a regular theme at Trump rallies. There is also the claim that no one died in the storming of the Capitol on January 6. Absolutely false.
Trump returned to the topic of border “invasion” as he attempted to leave the stage.
TRUMP: And remember, they’re taking your jobs. The people coming in are taking your jobs.
In the process, Trump made false claims He spoke about his support for historically black colleges and universities, the level of inflation, and promised to lower interest rates, something no president can control. He left before answering questions about Project 2025.
His comments about Harris were terrible, but Everything is terrible.
