Former President Donald Trump was invited to speak at the National Association of Black Journalists national convention in Chicago on Wednesday, where he addressed hard-hitting questions from an ABC reporter that attacked his record.  However, Trump remained defiant in the face of the seeming hostility at the network.

Trump rebuked the treatment he had received, claiming he had never been asked a question “in such a horrible manner.”  However, he succinctly answered why black voters should support him, maintaining that he has been the best president for the demographic “since Abraham Lincoln” while citing his accomplishments.

The reporter hosting Trump onstage began the conversation with a lengthy opening, “You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe black district attorneys. You’ve attacked Black Journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar a Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”

Trump fired back, “Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question so in such a horrible manner, first question, you don’t even say hello. How are you? Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network. A terrible network. And I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the black population of this country.”

The former president began listing his efforts to improve the black community, such as, “Including employment, including opportunity zones, with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for black workers and black entrepreneurs done so much. And, you know, and I say this, historically black colleges and universities were out of money. They were stone-cold broke, and I saved them, and I gave them long term financing, and nobody else was doing it. I think it’s a very rude introduction. I don’t know exactly why you would do something like that,” Trump said.

Trump also complained that Vice President Kamala Harris was not president at the conference. He claimed that the previous understanding was that she would be present onstage with him in a debate-style format. Trump criticized the host, claiming he had been invited under “false pretenses,” continuing to question why Kamala didn’t show up.

“And let me go a step further. I was invited here, and I was told my opponent, whether it was Biden or Kamala. I was told my opponent was going to be here. It turned out my opponent isn’t here. You invited me under false pretense, and then you said you can’t do it with Zoom. Well, you know, where’s zoom? She’s going to do it with Zoom, and she’s not coming,” he said.

Notably, as Trump made his remarks during the interview, he was seemingly well-received by the audience, who would often break out into applause and laughter, highlighting the charisma and showmanship of the former president.  Watch the clip from the interview at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago below:

Note:  The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.