(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump called an ABC News correspondent “disgraceful” during a Q&A session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago on Wednesday, sparking backlash from other journalists who invited Trump to speak at the event.
Journalist Ronald Martin, host of “Roland Martin Unfiltered,” says NABJ leadership should have intervened when Trump began insulting the panel.
“Somebody in leadership should have stood up and said, hold on one second. Before we continue any further, you have insulted our members,” Martin told the press after the heated panel. “What you’re not going to do is begin this conversation insulting members of this panel. But again, that’s called setting the tone at the outset, and we didn’t do it.”
ABC News’ Rachel Scott opened the Q&A session with Trump by citing some of his past comments, including his spreading of the birther conspiracy about former President Obama, his call for certain Democratic lawmakers to “go back” to countries they came from and his meeting with a white supremacist at Mar-a-Lago.
“Why should Black voters trust you?” Scott asked Trump.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. A 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. 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.”
Trump went on to claim that he has been the “best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln” while seemingly accusing event organizers of starting late. The dialogue, which was scheduled to begin at noon, didn’t kick off until after 1 p.m.
“You have to be in control of the conversation; you literally have to stop the conversation and say, ‘I’m gonna take a pause. We’re going to be respectful to you, but you are going to be respectful to us,'” Martin said following the tense panel discussion.
