Harris campaign urges Black journalists to call out Trump’s ‘lies’ at NABJ event

The Harris campaign blasted former President Trump on Wednesday over his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago.

“Ahead of Donald Trump’s conversation at NABJ today — let’s remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning 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 play in our democracy,” said Jasmine Harris, the Harris campaign’s director of Black media, in a statement before Trump took to the stage.

“We know Donald Trump is going to lie about his record and the real harm he’s caused Black communities at NABJ — and he must be called out,” she added.

Vice President Harris’s team predicted Trump would lie about Black unemployment under his administration, his response to COVID-19 and the state of crime in America, which has decreased over the past year under the Biden administration after spiking during the pandemic.

“Black voters see Donald Trump’s lies and empty pandering for what they are — and they will hold him accountable at the polls this November,” Harris said in a statement.

Trump will sit for an interview at the NABJ conference moderated by three journalists: ABC’s Rachel Scott, Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Fox News host Harris Faulkner. 

His appearance at the event sparked backlash from several Black journalists, who questioned why the organization would invite the former president given his attacks on the press and journalists of color in particular.

Organizers have defended the decision to invite the former president, citing the value of interviewing a leading candidate for the White House.

Harris, the likely Democratic nominee after President Biden ended his candidacy earlier this month, will not attend this week’s convention in Chicago. She will be in Texas for a political event Wednesday and will remain there Thursday to speak at the funeral of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).

Ken Lemon, the president of the NABJ, said in a statement earlier Wednesday that the organization had been in talks with Harris’s team since before Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her.

“However, we were advised by her campaign at the time that her schedule could not accommodate this request,” Lemon said. “The last update we were provided (earlier this week) was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention. We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement.”