Trump at NABJ: What he said about 'Black jobs,' 'childless cat ladies' and Kamala's racial identity

CHICAGO - Former President Donald Trump took the stage at the Chicago convention for the National Association of Black Journalists Wednesday and there was no shortage of controversial comments during his question and answer session. 

The internet exploded just moments after the tense session kicked off as ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott attempted to address the "elephant in the room" with the former president. 

"A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today," Scott said. 

Some protesters gathered outside of the convention and there had already been a dramatic stir among convention attendees when it was announced that Trump would be speaking. Things began to heat up as the panel delved into questions about Trump’s rhetoric, his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris and his decision to bring J.D. Vance onto his ticket. 

Here are some of the moments that caused the most backlash following the event.

Trump criticizes ABC News

"You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States. You have told four congressmen of color who were American citizens to go back to where they came. You have used words like "animal" and "rabid" to describe Black district attorneys. You attack Black Journalists, calling them a "loser" and the questions that they ask are "stupid" and "racist." You had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort," Scott began. 

With that, she asked Trump why Black voters should trust him. The answer came with hostility that carried through most of what became a combative 40-minute conversation. 

"Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner," Trump responded. "Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network." 

It was the first of many jabs the former president took at the network and Scott herself. Trump then launched into his version of what he has done for Black Americans.

"I love the Black population of this country," he said. "I've done so much for the Black population of this country, 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. I've done so much." 

He talked about his administration’s investments in historically Black colleges and universities, and said that he’s "been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." 

Trump questions Harris' racial identity

Trump was then asked about comments some members of the Republican party have made about Harris, referring to her as a "DEI hire," referring to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that the GOP has long disavowed. 

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett called her a "DEI vice president," and Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming called Harris a "DEI hire" and referred to her as "intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel." 

Trump responded by saying that he "didn’t know she was black" and that she "happened to turn black." 

"She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage," Trump said.  "Now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she black? She has always — I respect either one but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went…she became a Black person." 

He ended with a noncommittal answer, saying "I don’t know, I really don’t know. Could be, could be. Some of them are," before pivoting to praise of Fox News Harris Faulkner, who interviewed him.

Trump on his "Black jobs" remark 

One of Trump’s comments that has been making the rounds online for weeks came during his June 27 debate against President Joe Biden when he said that immigrants are "taking Black jobs."  

It quickly became a joke across social media with users asking for an explanation of what constitutes a "Black job."

"A Black job is anybody that has a job, that's what it is. Anybody that has a job," Trump said when asked the question at NABJ.

He maintained his stance that the U.S. is experiencing an immigrant "invasion," however, and doubled down on the claim that migrant workers are stealing jobs from minority populations.

"These people are coming into our country and they're taking Black jobs and Hispanic jobs, and frankly, they're taking union jobs. Unions have been very badly affected by all of the millions of people coming in from Mexico," Trump said. 

PolitiFact, which partnered with NABJ to fact-check the session in real-time, says this claim is unsupported. 

"Since Biden took office in early 2021, the number of foreign-born Americans who are employed has risen by about 5.6 million. But over the same period, the number of native-born Americans employed has increased by almost 7.4 million," PolitiFact wrote. "If foreign-born workers were eating into Black workers’ opportunities, it would show up in unemployment rates. But the unemployment rate for Black Americans is low by historical standards; it hit a record low under Biden, although it has risen a bit since then." 

Trump on J.D. Vance and his "childless cat lady" comments

Moderators asked Trump about his decision to select Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate. 

He said, in part, that Vance "started off at a level with a difficult family situation. Very difficult with the mother, father, and ends up going to Yale Law School and was one of the top students." 

The question came amid backlash over resurfaced comments Vance made about Vice President Harris and other Democrats in a 2021 Fox News interview, saying they’re "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too."

"It's just a basic fact — you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children," Vance continued. "How does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?"

The comments drew extreme ire from Democrats who pointed out that there are a variety of reasons people may not have children, including medical conditions and infertility, financial barriers and other personal reasons. Trump defended Vance’s comments. 

"What he’s saying is that he thinks the family experience is a very important thing. It's a very good thing," Trump said. "But that doesn’t mean if you grow up, grow older and don’t meet somebody that would be wonderful to meet that that’s a bad thing. He’s not saying that." 

"My interpretation is he’s strongly family-oriented but that doesn’t mean if you don’t have a family there’s something wrong with you," he continued. 

Trump also said he does not agree with Vance’s suggestions that people with children should get more votes than childless Americans — a notion that he put forth during a 2021 speech to a conservative organization called the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. 

-----------------------------

This story was reported on from Washington, D.C.