Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Soon: Trump Speaks At Black Journalists Convention In Chicago. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 31, 2024 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR & SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And there are still a huge line outside. People wanting to hear this conversation between three black journalists and Donald Trump himself. He's expected here in a short bit.

But there has been a lot of back-and-forth. And part of the reason why people we're upset is because they saw him using this event as a way to try and encourage black voters to vote for him.

And also, at the same time, going after the person who could potentially become the first black female American to become the president of the United States, calling her Crazy Kamala.

And saying she disrespected the National Association of Black Journalists by her not being able to schedule her showing up here, not even virtually. But she has fairly tight schedule.

And now she is responding to him. And I would just -- we just got this in. She is saying, "Ahead of Donald Trump's conversation at the NABJ today, let's remember exactly who the man is.

"Not only does," as she puts it, "Donald Trump have a history of demeaning and NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press place in our democracy."

They talk about the fact that they believe he is going to lie on the stage about what he has done before black folks in this country, for African-Americans in this country.

And they do intend to have a conversation similarly, virtually. But after the convention. That has just been worked out with the National Association of Black Journalists.

But here is what the president of any NABJ, Ken Lemon, has said about this controversy and why it was so important to invite both of these potential nominees or assumed nominees out their respective parties for president.

They've been doing so since 1976. Here's what he said about the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEN LEMON, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS: It is our jobs as journalists to have those uncommon -- uncomfortable conversations so that the people who count on us to inform them get the information from the source.

And I hope, as a journalism organization, the National Association of Black Journalists, we take that portion seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The last word in the name of journalists. And they have all showed up. We should try and listen to this conversation. We will have much more when the conversation happens in just a bit here.

But there is controversy swirling and we are expecting there to be protests outside -- Boris, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right. Sara Sidner, stay with us, if you will.

And we do want to bring in our panelists right now. We have Shermichael Singleton and Kate Bedingfield with us.

Shermichael, I wonder what you think of this controversy over President Trump appearing at this conference.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, I get it. I have a lot of friends who are black journalist and I have talked with a ton of them over the last 24 hours.

But I also found, in my conversations, texts, a few phone calls, that they also thought that it was important. I mean, here's someone who very well may become the next president again of the United States.

And there are some very serious questions that black journalists, who do represent the interests of the black community, should be able to ask both leading candidates in terms of their policies and their politics and their philosophy and how that will have implications on the broader black community.

That is their job as journalists. And the job is to take two task politicians and political leaders.

And so my hope is that they will ask tough questions. And my hope is that the former president will answer those tough questions.

Black people are not pusillanimous in nature. That is just not in our being in terms of who we are in this country. We went through a whole host of things.

And so I think three strong black women can ask the former president some pretty darn tough questions.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Kate, to you. There has been some back-and- forth about why Vice President Harris isn't appearing at the conference. Apparently, it has to do with scheduling. She wanted to do it at a different time. The organizers say that it

couldn't happen. They tried to accommodate her. Again, a back-and- forth.

But I'm wondering what it means that she's not there and yet Donald Trump is.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would not read anything into that. I think her team has said that she's going to speak to NABJ virtually in the coming weeks.

I mean, the reality is she became the presumptive Democratic nominee just over a week ago and has been, you know -- all has essentially been flooded with activity since then.

So, the reality is being a nominee for president of the United States has required an enormous number of demands on your time. And I don't think anybody should read into her not being able to adjust her schedule this week to be there.

You know, I do think it is important that, as these journalists sit down with Donald Trump this afternoon, that they -- they hold him accountable.

And we know what Trump is going to do. We know his M.O. He's going to lie relentlessly. He's going to try to overwhelm them with lies and with falsehoods.

And so I'm really hoping that we're going to see -- we're going to see these women this afternoon really, really take him to task for that, which I agree with Shermichael, is the role of journalists.

[13:34:59]

And I think it's important for people who subscribe to and read the papers that the National Association of Black Journalists represents, I think it's important that they hear these lies and falsehoods from Donald Trump be called out. So I I'm really interested to see how this goes this afternoon.

KEILAR: Yes. I don't think this is going to be a walk in the park for the former president. And certainly we'll be watching very carefully to see how it does go.

Shermichael, Kate, if you will stay with us.

We are waiting hang on the former president to appear there at NABJ. We're going to bring that to you live. Former President Trump expected just moments from now.

We'll get in a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:13] SANCHEZ: So we are closely watching Chicago this afternoon because former President Donald Trump is set to appear at a conference there, the National Association of Black Journalists.

It's expected to be a Q&A session, question-and-answer, with three journalists. At any moment, the former president is set to appear.

We have a panel with us, Shermichael Singleton and Kate Bedingfield, as well as Sara Sidner, who is actually there at the conference.

And, Sara, I want to go to you because you're there. You have a sense of the room. You've been speaking to journalists who are there.

We know that the co-chair of this conference actually stepped down over Trump's appearance. So this is not without controversy. I'm wondering what sense you're getting from folks attending this year's conference about the former president being there.

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE) involved the co-chair with the decision. But she stepped down for this and for other reasons.

It is interesting to note that if there was a controversy and people did not want to show up, that is not the case. There are so many people here. It is a -- a packed house. There's -- there's not an open seat and there are still people waiting outside.

And remember, this is not open to the public. This is for the National Association of Black Journalists. The people in this room are going to be coming to the convention anyway. And they are here and in full force to listen to this conversation.

And it will be a conversation. This is not a speech. This is three journalists who are going to be asking him questions from different news organizations. And so you will have a robust conversation.

The other thing that NABJ insisted upon is that there would be a fact- check in real time. No matter who showed up for this, if both candidates did, fine, it would still be the same way. And so there's going to be a real-time fact-check that is implemented here during this conversation as well.

But people are interested in hearing what Donald Trump has to say. And he will be asked some tough questions from the black community.

There -- there is a sense, for those who are upset, that Donald Trump is here, are concerned about giving him this particular platform. And part of that stems from some of the ways he has spoken to black journalists in the past, including our own brilliant, Abby Phillip.

Where he has called journalists dumb, where he has said black journalists, in particular, called them stupid, in particular, pointedly, to specifically black journalists not using that same language for other journalists.

And then you, of course, have, for all journalists, him using the saying, "enemy of the people," when it comes to journalism and journalists, in particular.

And so that is the consternation here. That is the concern about having him invited to this event.

But I do want to point out that NABJ has been inviting presidential nominees to this event since 1976. It is what they do to try to encourage people to turn out and have these conversations. It is what journalists do.

And so they felt very strongly, the head of the organization and others, felt very strongly that they have to put this opportunity out for the candidates who are leading, as far as in the polls, two to see what they have to say to the American public, but also to the black community.

And so they felt like, if whoever said yes, they were going to accept it. And that's what most journalists would do in this case.

And so we're going to have this robust conversation. There are at least a thousand people who have filled all of the seats here. And now we are at capacity.

And, of course, there has been big security sweeps, considering what happened to Donald Trump in that attempted assassination. So everybody is locked down here for the next however long it takes for Donald Trump to take the stage -- guys?

KEILAR: Yes. I think, Sara, that's -- that's a very interesting point that you we're making about some of the reasons why there is the controversy here.

Shermichael, I think we don't know how this is going to go.

SINGLETON: Yes.

KEILAR: Right? I mean, Sara really laid out former President Trump's track record with not just journalists, but female journalists of color, and particularly black journalists.

Journalism isn't like normal interactions. You know, you invite someone over to your house for dinner and they're rude to you --

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: -- you don't invite them over again.

But we're kind of used to being in places where people are rude to us or don't -- aren't happy with us.

And yet, when there's the question of racism, that's kind of what goes up against the line, that he has treated journalists of color and black journalists specifically differently than other journalists.

SINGLETON: Well, look, I mean, traditionally speaking, it's a rather contentious relationship between journalists and politicians. That's always been the case. Because politicians don't like to be questioned. You know they see

themselves as individuals of some level of high authority. You can give credence as that whether or not you believe that to be true.

[13:45:01]

But the issue of race is not only a problem that the former president has to contend with, but it is one that the Republican Party has struggled with for quite some time.

Back in my early days of politics, when I used to really focus on black outreach, even when you would question, do surveys, do outreach and went door to door knocking with black voters, you would see quite a few would say, I agree with these aspects of what would be traditional conservatism.

But it is because of these issues, particularly pertaining to race, that many black people say there's just no way in the world I could cross over that bridge.

So I think this is an issue that has become more heightened and sensitive, with President Obama, and now with Vice President Kamala Harris. And so I think it is incredibly smart for the foreign president to not -- I wouldn't say showcase deference -- but to showcase a cultural awareness and understanding in this moment.

Particularly when we have seen some data that suggests he's doing better with black men and Latino men. You don't want to turn those people off by having negative perceptions as it pertains to race.

SANCHEZ: Kate, to that point, we have seen poll after poll show that the former president is performing better than just about any Republican, I believe, in like 60 years with African-Americans. What do you attribute that to?

BEDINGFIELD: Well, I think -- but remember, we've also just gotten a huge reset in this race just about a week ago. So I think, you know, while there was -- you know, my sense of it is there are, amongst the black community, as among many other constituencies, there's frustration with President Biden over the economy, in particular.

I think that was part of what was driving some of that interest in Trump and also in third-party candidates. And I think what we've seen with Kamala Harris now moving to the top of the ticket is we're seeing a reset across -- across constituencies here in this race.

So for one sort of proof point in support of that, I see the Trump campaign has now gone up, or is about to go up tomorrow with TV advertising in North Carolina, a place where they are now suddenly feeling a little bit on the defensive.

I mean, if you want to know how -- where a campaign really feels strong versus where it feels weak, look at where they're spending money.

So you see the Trump campaign now, in the wake of this reset that we've seen in the race, you see the Trump campaign now spending money in North Carolina, a place where the black vote is significant.

I think there is, I think, a much bigger opportunity here for Kamala Harris to grow with black voters than there was with President Biden, who was such a known entity, sort of all of his favorables and unfavorables were baked in.

That's not true with Vice President Harris. She has a lot of room to grow.

So I think we're going to see a new race here in terms of competing for some of these key constituencies who are ultimately going to determine the outcome in November.

KEILAR: Yes. Kate, I wonder what you think of a potential moment that we may see here. If you talk to Democratic operatives, they'll say Donald Trump's safest place to be politically is just two hammer Kamala Harris as a San Francisco liberal, attack her on immigration.

And yet, he cannot seem to shy away from taking shots that are obviously racially loaded. And I think I may be generous in my characteristic there. He won't say her name correctly. Just on Friday, he was saying he couldn't care less, even though he does seem to care.

A lot of his supporters have been talking about, you know, DEI hire, which makes no sense and just seems to be a bit of a slur.

So if he's questioned about those things and he just doubles down on it, I mean, how is that moment going to go before this audience?

BEDINGFIELD: Well, not well for him, I would imagine. You know, and I think we have seen him continue to kind of double down on this line of attack.

Even though you see others in the Republican Party, basically begging him not to do this and to focus on the places where they think they have a substantive advantage, like you we're referencing.

But he can't help himself. This is who he is. This is what he has done to our politics in this country, to the level of civility in our discourse.

So look, I can't imagine if he comes out this afternoon and says some of the really offensive and hateful things that he has said about Kamala Harris so far in this race, that he's going to get a good reception in this room.

And I think it will be interesting to see if he -- recognizing where he is, if he tries to adjust course. I mean, I think, time and again, he's -- hes given the opportunity to adjust course and he never does.

I mean, what did he say a few days ago? That people thought that the shooting maybe changed him and made him a nicer person, when he says, in fact, it made him worse.

So I imagine we're going to see that version of him. And it will be really interesting to see what the reception is like in that room. I cannot imagine it will be good.

[13:50:06]

And crucially, I also can't imagine it will be good from the audience, from the people who -- who watch the media, read the stories that are produced by the journalists in that room.

SANCHEZ: Kate, Shermichael, thank you so much for the perspective.

We're, of course, going to bring you Donald Trump and his Q&A moderated discussion as soon as it begins.

We're going to take a quick break, though. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: So right now, and this is what you're looking at on the right side of your screen there. We're waiting on this moderated discussion where you have three journalists there at the National Association of Black Journalists Conference who will be having a discussion with former President Trump. This is in Chicago.

And I do just want to mention the names of those journalists who will be moderating this discussion. You have Rachel Scott from ABC News. She is a correspondent there. As well as Harrison Faulkner, who is a FOX News host. And Semaphore politics reporter, Kadia Goba, will be there.

So three female journalists who will be questioning former President Trump.

In the meantime, let's bring in CNN's Kristen Holmes, who is at Trump's next event, which is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

It's not actually all that far from Butler, Pennsylvania. I know that's been getting a lot of notice there, Kristen.

What is the strategy in Trump World for him as he's going into this in Chicago?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For Chicago, there's a lot of strategies going on here. I think we just heard Kate say this, that while he had gained some momentum among minority voters, particularly among black men, the calculus in the entire race has changed because President Joe Biden has dropped out.

So there is part of this where he's trying to reach out into different communities. But there's also a part of this that is trying to seize the media narrative.

[13:54:59]

But Donald Trump has been largely out of the spotlight for the last week and a half as Vice President Kamala Harris has really seized this opportunity, stepping into the light as people learn more about her. The fact that she -- this unprecedented way that Joe Biden dropped out and she assumed this position, becoming the likely Democratic nominee, having the entire Democratic Party coalesce behind her.

And of course, all of the excitement and enthusiasm that has come with her taking on that role.

Donald Trump knows, and as we obviously have covered for years, how to take control of a media narrative. It is unexpected for him to show up at NABJ. It is something that people are going to talk about. And obviously, we are talking about it.

Because there is a lot of interest in him sitting down with black journalists. There are a lot of important questions that he needs to answer.

As you heard Sara talking about, there was a lot of controversy over him attending. Peoples thinking he shouldn't have been invited.

And again, Donald Trump knows that by accepting that invitation, it puts him squarely back in the spotlight. One of the things that he has struggled with over the past week and a half is gaining back that traction.

You have to remember, Brianna, that he had been basically coasting since the debate. Yes, we are still in a presidential race, but they felt so good not only about those battleground states, but really about expanding the electoral map.

They we're talking about Virginia, Minnesota. All of those things are now in question as they try to work through what this race is actually going to look like over the next seven several months heading into November now that he has a new rival.

So, yes, part of this is him reaching out into another community. But the other part of this is him trying to squarely get back the narrative and get back out there as he tries to formulate his attack plans on Kamala Harris.

And as we heard some of our commentators saying, it will be very interesting to hear how he navigates that as he sits down on this panel with those journalists.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we'll see what kind of headlines he generates there.

Kristen Holmes, live for us in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, thank you so much.

We will bring you this Q&A session with former President Donald Trump as it begins.

We are going to take a quick break. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)