Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon sat down with ABC News’ Rachel Scott for an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists convention — and it was heated right from the jump.
“A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. 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, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen — women of color who were American citizens — to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabbid’ to describe Black district attorneys. You've attacked Black journalists, calling them a ‘loser,’ saying the questions that they ask are, ‘stupid’ and ‘racist.’ You've had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort,” Scott said in her first question to Trump. “Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”
“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?’” Trump said. “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.”
Trump, from the very beginning of the interview, took issue with Scott’s tough questioning and blamed her for the conversation being delayed for more than 30 minutes due to audio issues.
“It's a very rude introduction. I don't know exactly why you would do something like that. And let me go a step further: I was invited here and I was told my opponent — whether it was [Joe] Biden or Kamala [Harris] — 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. And then you were half an hour late. Just so we understand: I have too much respect for you to be late. They couldn't get their equipment working or something was wrong.”
“I think it's a very nasty question,” he said about Scott’s original question. “I have answered the question. I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. That's my answer.”
“Better than President Johnson, who signed the Voting Rights Act?” Scott asked.
“For you to start off a question-and-answer period — especially when you're 35 minutes late because you couldn't get your equipment to work — in such a hostile manner. I think it's a disgrace.”
