AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Earlier today at a conference in Chicago, former President Trump said this about Vice President Harris.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DONALD TRUMP: I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know. Is she Indian or is she Black?
RACHEL SCOTT: She has always identified as a Black woman.
TRUMP: But you know what? I respect...
CHANG: Trump was addressing the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. He was invited to speak there because presidential candidates often are, but it's stirred up controversy, both before and during the talk. So how did the talk go? And what has the response been? We're joined now by Kadia Goba, a political reporter for Semafor. She was also one of the three moderators for today's talk. Welcome.
KADIA GOBA: Hi.
CHANG: Hi.
GOBA: Thank you for having me.
CHANG: Thanks for being with us. So Kadia, you're fresh off the stage with former President Trump. What stood out to you personally about the Q&A session you just had?
GOBA: Well, obviously, I wasn't surprised that former President Trump didn't answer questions like most people do. But I was very surprised at the vitriol at the very beginning. It was very - it was quite unsettling and kind of set the tone for a very aggressive panel.
CHANG: Can I play that piece of tape? You're talking about the fact that Trump was almost immediately critical of your co-panelist, ABC News congressional correspondent Rachel Scott. Here's a clip of that.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question so - in such a horrible manner, a 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.
CHANG: Kadia, what was the feeling like in the room in that moment?
GOBA: You know, you can't - the visual on the room wasn't clear because of lighting, but, I mean, immediately deflated because at this point, this is now - this has become a hostile interview - right? - and not what we set out to do. Obviously, the former president came out here because he is the Republican nominee. And I'm sure his team, as well as the panelists on that stage, wanted to get answers - right? - because he's running for president - wanted to understand what he is going to do, especially for Black people, and just get him on the record for some questions that the many - at least 1,000 journalists in the audience would have really appreciated. And it was just deflating to - for it to start off that way.
CHANG: Can I just keep going into this? - because former President Trump has spread lies and disinformation about the 2020 election, about immigration, about a lot of topics. Was there a plan going into today for fact-checking him during this talk?
GOBA: Yeah. There was - we announced it at the beginning of the panel. PolitiFact was doing live fact-checking.
CHANG: OK. I mean, he did make a number of false statements, some of which you all pointed out. Like, he said millions of criminals are crossing...
GOBA: Yes.
CHANG: ...The Southern border into the U.S. right now. On abortions, he said that Democrats are allowing for the death of a baby after the baby is born - all false. I want to go to a statement from the campaign of Vice President Harris. It reads, quote, "Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists, the same way he did throughout his presidency. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us." What do you make of that assessment from Vice President Harris?
GOBA: I mean, I think, you know, in terms of her - she's factually correct in that he lobbed personal attacks on journalists like that. It's - you know, that was my point of view as well. That was - it was very unexpected. I did not set out to interview the president. Like I've told other hits I've done, you know, everyone is very strategic about how they formulate their question for Donald Trump because the expectation is that, like many other lawmakers, he will pivot. But did not expect the personal attacks at all - it just, you know...
CHANG: Do you think NABJ accomplished what it set out to do with this conversation with Trump?
GOBA: You know, that's a great question. I mean, I'd like to say I got him on record about cognitive tests, right? So I mean, if - and he did answer a couple of questions. So, I mean, their - they asked - their main platform is asking, you know, presidential candidates to do this.
CHANG: Right.
GOBA: So, I mean, they accomplished that.
CHANG: OK. Kadia Goba, political reporter at Semafor, thank you very much.
GOBA: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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