The sharp questioning by ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott in particular helped create a remarkably heated atmosphere during former President Donald Trump’s appearance before a gathering of black journalists on Wednesday.
Scott pressed Trump over past comments about Black leaders, his support for January 6, 2021, rioters and diversity hiring, leading the former president to repeatedly complain about the way he was treated.
“She was very rude,” the former president said, pointing to Scott.
Trump’s appearance at a gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists was fraught with bad vibes from the start. Some members objected to the Republican presidential candidate’s invitation to address the group, while others said it was their duty as journalists to question him.
The onstage panel discussion, in which Trump was questioned by Scott, Fox News Channel’s Harris Faulkner and Semafor’s Kadia Goba, was delayed more than half an hour due to technical issues.
Scott, ABC News’ senior congressional reporter and campaign correspondent, has been with ABC News since 2016. Her visibility has increased recently when she hosted the network’s live coverage of President Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race. In her first question, Scott referenced the controversy over Trump’s appearance and specifically cited several of Trump’s past statements about black leaders, including his false accusations about former President Barack Obama’s birthplace and disparaging remarks toward members of Congress, district attorneys and journalists.
“Now that you’re asking black voters to vote for you, why would black voters trust you after you used such language?” Scott asked.
Trump immediately went after the questioner.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible way, a first question,” he replied. “You don’t even say ‘hello, how are you.’ Are you from ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network.”
The opening statement was immediately reminiscent of Trump’s first campaign debate in 2016, when Megyn Kelly, then a Fox News Channel reporter, brought up things he had said about women and asked, “Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?”
When Trump began talking on Wednesday about what his administration has done for black Americans, Scott tried to interrupt him by saying, “Mr. President, I would love for you to answer the question about your rhetoric and why you think black voters can trust you for another term.”
Trump said he did, claiming, as he had done before, that he was the best president for black people since Abraham Lincoln.
“Better than President Johnson, who signed the Civil Rights Act?” Scott asked.
Scott then asked whether Trump supported his supporters who suggested that his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, was a DEI hire, leading to a discussion about what the phrase — for diversity, equity and inclusion — meant.
“Do you think Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the list because she’s a black person?” Scott asked, leading to Trump’s most newsworthy comments of the session, in which he questioned Harris’ racial background.
Scott also pointedly asked about Trump’s support for people convicted for their actions in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
“That day, 140 police officers were attacked,” she said. “Their injuries included broken bones, at least one officer lost an eye, one had broken ribs, two fractured discs, another had a stroke. Were the people who attacked those 140 officers … patriots who deserve to be pardoned?”
Trump brought up the topic at rallies by supporters of liberal causes.
The panel ended in some confusion. Scott, who was the moderator, interrupted an attempt by Faulkner to ask about the Project 2025 blueprint, saying that Trump’s time was limited.
After the session, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that “the questions were crude and mean, often in the form of a statement, but we MADE THE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WOULDN’T BE CRAZY!”
A student journalist who attended the conference, Kelly Arrington of Savanah State University, said, “I assumed Trump was just there to win over more black voters… But unfortunately in this conversation, he didn’t answer the questions that were put to him.”
The session quickly became a topic of conversation on social media, with some praising Scott for asking tough questions, while others suggested Trump had been ambushed.
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Associated Press correspondent Matt Brown contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him on http://twitter.com/dbauder.
