Former president Donald Trump stopped by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention for an interview that was aimed at broadening his appeal to Black communities and possibly other minorities. Instead, incendiary comments have raised some eyebrows and heightened criticism among different groups.
The interview on Wednesday was scheduled for an hour with ABC News' Rachel Scott, one of the three moderators at the convention. But after heated back and forth, the question-and-answer session was cut short to 34 minutes.
When asked why he decided to attend the event, the GOP nominee said his message was to "stop people from invading our country." He was alluding to migrants crossing the southern border, whom he has repeatedly claimed are taking "Black Jobs," a term he has used since the presidential debate and that some critics condemned as racist.
"A lot of journalists in this room are Black," Trump said, prompting laughter and gasps from the audience. "I will tell you that coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs."
In response, Scott asked him what he referred to by the criticized term.
"A Black job is anybody that has a job, that's what it is," Trump responded, before saying of undocumented immigrants: "They're taking the employment away from Black people."
But the conversation got more combative when the topic was switched to the former president's opponent in the upcoming elections— Vice President Kamala Harris.
The journalist asked Trump about Harris being a "DEI hire," a term an increasing number of Republicans are using that refers to workplace policies promoting "diversity, equity and inclusion." It is also being used more and more by some to discredit people of color with opposing political views. She also asked him whether that is an acceptable term in his party.
Initially, Trump defiantly asked Scott to define what "DEI" is, to which Scott responded by listing the words in the term. Eventually, when he was asked to simply answer the question, the former president finally said he was "not sure" whether he thought Harris was a DEI hire.
Nevertheless, that did not stop him from questioning Harris' race and background, saying she had only promoted her Indian heritage until now.
"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?" Trump said.
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the U.S. She attended Howard University, one of the nation's most prominent historically Black colleges and universities, where she was also a member of the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. Later in her career as a U.S. Senator, the now-Vice President was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, supporting legislation to strengthen voting rights and to reform policing.
Following the statements, the Harris campaign quickly denounced the allegations.
Michael Tyler, the communications director for the Harris campaign, said in a statement that "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."
"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," Tyler said. "Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us."
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