Who knows what bright spark in the box of dull bulbs that is Donald Trump‘s inner circle decided it would be a good idea for him to attend the National Association of Black Journalists convention, but everybody should thank them because the result is even more implosive for the Trump campaign than we could ever have hoped for.
Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC, made sure not to waste her chance to hold Trump accountable for his history of offensive comments about America’s African-American community as she came out the gate firing during her interview with the presidential candidate. After a brief “thank you for coming,” Scott immediately submerged Trump in hot water by listing off all the heinous and hostile things he’s said about Black people across his political career. And it’s clear he was entirely unprepared. Well, you know, even more unprepared for an actual coherent conversation than he usually is.
“I wanna start by talking about the elephant in the room, sir; a lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today.” Scott began her line of questioning. She then reeled off a truly alarming and extensive number of instances where Trump’s rampant racism was on full display, reaching back to when he used to claim Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. to the times he told four separate congresswomen of color to “go back where they came from.” Scott’s ultimate, and unanswerable, question: “Now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”
After a stunning 52 seconds of Scott revealing Trump to be the tangerine troglodyte that he is, the man himself only had a pathetic comeback by way of defense: “Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. You don’t even say ‘hello, how are you?'”
After Trump was allowed to gain the upper hand in an oratory sense at the election debate against Biden in June, it’s a triumphant moment to see him strung out and left to dry like a particularly hideous orange sweater. It’s sadly all too rare for Trump to be questioned about his atrocious actions to his face, with his nothing burger of a response allowing him to show himself for who he really is.
X user @AmoneyResists summed it up best: “OMFG. This. Is. A. Total. Disaster. For. Him.” They also congratulated Scott for taking Trump to task, in contrast to other interviewers who have arguably let him off easily. “THIS is how you ask questions to a malignant narcissist,” he added, tagging CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
Given that this same convention appearance saw him earn appalled gasps from the crowd when he suggested Kamala Harris had “turned Black,” Trump’s NABJ performance could not have gone any worse. Some are now speculating that this could even cost him the election, but the former POTUS has done a lot of things that should’ve rightly cost him the election before now so that remains to be seen. For the here and now, though, Rachel Scott just earned herself a well-deserved place in the Trump-Haters Hall of Fame.