MSNBC’s The ReidOut
7/31/2024
07:01:20 PM EST

JOY REID: But we begin tonight with the visual depiction of a dumpster fire. That may be the only appropriate way to describe what happened today when the NABJ, the National Association of Black Journalists, hosted Donald Trump. It started with Trump attacking one of the three moderators, Rachel Scott of ABC news, after she asked why black voters should trust him, given his past comments about members of the black community. And it just went downhill from there, as he went after his political opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

[Cuts to Trump at NABJ video]

REID: Okay. Time for a quick fact check. First off, no, Donald, you are not the best president for black people since Abraham Lincoln, not even close. For instance, you like to claim that you have the lowest black unemployment numbers when, in fact, that happened under President Biden. 

Second, Vice President Kamala Harris is black. She's always identified as black. Her father, also black. Here she is at the 2006 State of Black America. She also went to Howard University and is a member of the historically black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Imagine, a white geezer lecturing a room full of black journalists about who is and isn’t black.

Third, Vice President Harris was not the border czar. There's no such position in the federal government, Donald. President Biden tasked VP Harris to look at the root causes of undocumented mass migration to the United States, and to negotiate compacts in Central America to slow the flow of migrants–which she did, including with Guatemala–not to monitor the border. 

Fourth, Kamala Harris absolutely passed the bar exam. That is how she became the district attorney of San Francisco and the attorney general in the state of California. And a successful prosecutor, Donald, that is how she will own you in the next debate, if you're not too chicken to show up. 

And, finally, while we’ve debunked this one, multiple times on this show, we must say yet again, that, no, Democrats do not support the killing of infants after birth. That is called infanticide and it is very, very illegal, a word you know a lot about, Donald, given your 34-count felony conviction. Also illegal, having an elective abortion in the ninth month of a pregnancy. Which just as an idea is actually insane. 

Having said all of that, I also just want to say one quick thing about this invitation. To the president and board of NABJ, y'all got played. Donald Trump showed up at the convention for exactly three reasons. One, to try to dispel the notion he's scared to debate a black woman, a presumption one can draw from his refusal to commit to debating–to debating VP Harris who, again, for those in the back, is a black and Asian woman. 

It's also why he lost it, like a grumbly senior at the retirement home who didn't get his jello dessert, when ABC's Rachel Scott challenged him to answer basic questions. And how likely is it that he would have shown up at all if the lady from the network, that paid a $787 million dollar legal settlement for spreading the big lie, wasn't included on the panel? 

Second, to steal the attention that Vice President Kamala Harris has hijacked from him because she's just more interesting and her support is more joyous and rooted in popular American culture. And three, to create clips to play for his very white, very right wing MAGA fanbase of him standing up to the blacks. 

Joining me now is April Ryan, White House correspondent for TheGrio and an MSNBC contributor. April, (sighs), deep breaths. I watched that today in absolute horror. You are one of the people who spoke out against this invitation. Talk to me about how in the world it happened in the first place.

APRIL RYAN: Well, first of all, the NABJ, an advocacy group for black journalists, the black press, extends invitations every election cycle to presidential candidates. But for this cycle, this special and unique cycle, Donald Trump was invited. But we know the story. 

And this is where I'm going to put the but in. We know the story. We’ve seen the movie. We spit the popcorn out and all of that. We know who he is to the black press, how he has berated us, how his minions have berated us, from himself to Tucker Carlson, who have come after me, Yamiche Alcindor, and you, Joy. And so many others, like Sunny Hostin from The View, Donna Brazile, Abby Phillips, so many…Don Lemon. 

And understanding this, and you're an advocacy group for the press, why would you invite someone that in 2018 you said you were appalled at his actions and used our pictures to say that so you're not appalled? What was this for? Was this for showing clout? Was this really for journalism's sake? Or was this just to pop ya collar, “I can get a presidential candidate?”

REID: Yeah.

RYAN: This was–it was insulting. My chest hurt the whole time. It was a shock and awe moment. I'm still trying to deal with it because the way he went after Rachel, I'm very concerned.

REID: Yeah. I mean, the reality is, Rachel Scott, God bless her, she’s the only one on that panel who even tried to push back. She did attempt to fact check him, but there was not a lot of fact checking in real time other than her. The other two panelists seem to be, sort of, just trying to help him have a good time and make him feel comfortable. 

The other piece of it, Rachel, is–I mean, April, I'm sorry–April, is the idea of this guy at 80–at 78 years old, nearly 80 years old, still not understanding that in America, if you are black plus anything else, you are black. That is not a rule black people created. It is a rule that Thomas Jefferson and other white founders created, because they believe that even having one drop of black blood made you black. So by the rules of the people he reveres, anybody who is partially black, whether it's Bob Marley, Barack Obama, or Kamala Harris, is black, and she's always identified as black. How does he not know that?

RYAN: She's always…

REID: Maybe…Go ahead.

RYAN: I hate to say it, but the ignorance of his understanding of culture, of race. He doesn't want to understand. As you said, one drop, one tenth of black blood, you are black. Kamala Harris is even identified on Capitol Hill. And this is what I don't understand. He said one minute she–you turn around and she's black. You can't just turn around and make somebody black.

REID: She was in the Congressional Black Caucus! (Laughs).

RYAN: That part, yes. And she went willingly to be a member of the Congressional Black Caucus before she became the vice presidential candidate and before she became vice president of the United States. I don't think Donald Trump really takes the time to understand the black community or what blackness really is, because what he understands is C’s on those housing applications that black people applied for and instead of giving them housing, he put C’s for colored so they wouldn't get it. 

He also sees black people as those five young men–who are now grown men, one is a city councilman for the city of Harlem–the Central Park Five, he sees us differently. He does not see us as human beings. For the way he came out at Rachel right off the bat, he had no respect for her. But Harris Faulkner he did, because she was there to cushion the moment for him to be with the black journalists.

REID: Yeah.

RYAN: So, it was -- it's a lot.

REID: Yeah. And lastly, Vice President Harris, there was some controversy about NABJ not wanting to allow her to appear virtually. Apparently that is now changing because of all the outcry. But imagine saying that the vice president of the United States needs to show up rather than go to the funeral of a very important member of Congress, who was essentially the aunty of the Juneteenth holiday, and not accommodating her. I think that's the other piece that was troublesome.

RYAN: Short-sighted–it’s very short-sighted. And this woman is potential–well, she is to be, in a few weeks, the first woman to be the Democrat–black woman to be a Democratic nominee, and they forced her to come in person when she said my schedule is tight. Within the last nine or so days, she's now running for president. And they couldn't even accommodate. And they, in a firestorm, tried to make it fast to get her. So they're going to get her in September either by video, virtual, or in person. We'll see what happens.

REID: Take it how they can get it. I'm gonna be at NABJ tomorrow, but I don't like to not be willing to say to somebody's face what I feel, so I'm just letting folks know how I feel about in advance of my arriving there, because this was deeply problematic and it was a, uh…

RYAN: Dumpster fire.

REID: It was a show. Yeah, it was a dumpster fire. We'll leave it at that. April Ryan, my friend, my soror, thank you.

RYAN: My soror, yes.

REID: Yes. 

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