Trump questions whether or not Harris is black and downplays Vance's election to black journalists' conference

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump takes the stage at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Charles Rex Arbogast |

Donald Trump's appearance on Wednesday at the annual conference of the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago almost suddenly got out of hand when the Republican presidential candidate expressed doubts about his rival's ethnicity and clashed with members of the panel.

Rachel Scott, ABC News' chief congressional correspondent and one of three journalists who interviewed Trump before a live audience, began by asking why black voters should trust him given his past attacks on black reporters.

Trump hit back, calling the introduction “very rude” and saying the question was “disgraceful” and asked in a “terrible way.”

“I love the black people of this country,” he said, claiming, “I am the best president for the black people since Abraham Lincoln.”

Trump was then asked to clarify what he meant when he spoke of “jobs for blacks” in earlier remarks.

“A black job is anyone who has a job,” he explained.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump (left), moderated by (from left) ABC's Rachel Scott, Semafor's Nadia Goba and FOX News' Harris Faulkner, speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Charles Rex Arbogast |

“That's it. Anyone who does that – they're taking jobs away from black people,” he continued, apparently referring to illegal immigrants. “They're coming and they're coming and they're invading.”

Trump also received loud reactions from the audience when asked about his supporters' claim that his likely opponent in the election, Vice President Kamala Harris, is a “DEI employee.”

“She was always of Native American descent and she only promoted Native American heritage,” Trump responded. “I didn't know she was black until she happened to become black several years ago and now wants to be known as black.”

“So I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?” he said. “She was always Indian, and suddenly she made a turn and became a black person.”

Trump later responded to the wave of criticism directed at his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, whose previous comments about childless Americans had resurfaced after his nomination.

In his comments, Vance denigrates leading Democrats as “childless cat ladies” and suggests that Americans with children should get more votes than those without.

Trump said of Vance: “He thinks the family experience is a very important thing.”

But when asked if parents should get more votes, Trump said, “Well, no.”

Trump also did not directly answer Fox News host Harris Faulkner's question about whether he believed Vance might be ready to take office on day one if he had to.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Charles Rex Arbogast |

“Historically, the vice president has no influence whatsoever when it comes to the election,” Trump said. “The choice of a vice president makes no difference.”

“You elect the president,” he said. “You elect me. If you like me, I will win.”

The event, which was billed as a one-hour question-and-answer session, began more than an hour late and ended after less than 45 minutes. One of the journalists on the podium said the Trump campaign team had canceled the event.

The Republican candidate spoke with Scott, Faulkner and Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba.

Trump's opponents, including the White House and the Harris campaign team, sharply criticized Trump's comments questioning the ethnicity of the de facto Democratic candidate.

“It's disgusting, it's offensive,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a briefing Wednesday afternoon.

A source familiar with Harris' campaign thinking told NBC News that Trump is “completely insane… He can't help himself.”

Harris is not attending the five-day convention, but NABJ said Wednesday that she is in talks with her team to schedule either a virtual or in-person question-and-answer session in September.

The convention appearance was an opportunity for Trump, who won only 12% of black voters in his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, to directly address voters of color on an important platform.

However, competing with Harris, the first black vice president, the first woman and the first person of South Asian descent, he may find it more difficult to woo these voters.

His combative performance on Wednesday afternoon is unlikely to win him any new fans.

Some polls show that Harris enjoys more support among black, Latino and young voters than Biden did before she replaced him as the Democratic Party's de facto candidate.

A new Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll of key swing states on Tuesday found that Harris effectively erased Trump's lead in the seven battleground states that will likely determine victory over the candidate in the Electoral College.

The NABJ's arrest of Trump had already sparked a backlash within the organization before his appearance.

Convention co-chair Karen Attiah resigned from her post on the eve of the event, writing in a social media post: “Good luck to the journalists interviewing Trump.”

NABJ leadership defended the move, saying it was consistent with the group's practices dating back to the mid-1970s.

Although Biden had planned to attend the event when he was a candidate, a person familiar with Harris' plans told NBC News on Tuesday that the vice president would not be able to fit an appearance at the convention into her schedule this week.

Harris' overlapping plans include attending the funeral of the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and the ongoing process of selecting a vice presidential candidate.

This is breaking news, please check back later for updates.