Trump shows his true colors when confronted with his history of racism

Last week, the National Association of Black Journalists reminded the country of what journalists should be doing when faced with outrageous statements by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, or any other politician for that matter: They asked him about those statements directly and without couching. It was a refreshing scene in these diminished times when journalists too often hold back in interviews because they worry about access and know that politicians can seek out friendly venues.

Trump has a long history of insulting and degrading people of color that dates to the 1970s, when the Justice Department brought a federal lawsuit against Trump, his father and his company for alleged racial discrimination at housing developments in New York.

In 1989, he ran a full-page ad in all four of New York City’s major newspapers calling for the execution of six nonwhite teenagers who were accused of raping a woman in Central Park in Manhattan. All six teenagers were eventually exonerated.

Since then, Trump has continued to utter racist remarks that include everything from the “birtherism” insults during Barack Obama’s presidency to questioning the patriotism and legal status of Black and brown elected officials to courting white supremacist voters. According to Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, he also denigrated Black people as “too stupid” to vote for him.

Last week he was in front of a room filled with some of the most accomplished Black journalists in the country, journalists who are almost all intimately aware of Trump’s racist past.

ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, one of the three journalists conducting the panel-style interview, decided to address the elephant in the room head on:

“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,” the question began. “You have told four congressmen, women of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ to describe Black district attorneys. You’ve attacked Black journalists, calling them ‘losers,’ 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 continued.

“So, my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you: Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?” Scott asked.

Trump’s response was to become defensive and attack Scott, calling her “very rude” and “nasty,” describing the question as “horrible” and ABC News as a “fake news organization.”

To be clear, quoting political candidates and asking them if they stand by their prior words or how voters should interpret their words is not rude or nasty, it’s a sign of professional journalism. It signals that a journalist has taken the time to do their homework in advance and learned about the statements or positions of a candidate that may give pause to some voters. These types of questions are also opportunities for candidates to clarify their position, remedy past mistakes, demonstrate learning and growth, and otherwise update the facts on record.

Trump failed to take the opportunity. He could have stated unequivocally that Haley and Obama are U.S. citizens, affirmed that Black Americans should never be made to feel unwelcome in the United States due to their race or praised the contributions of Black Americans to society. Instead, predictably, Trump spewed ignorant and vile rhetoric. He hurled insults at the excellent reporter sitting across from him for doing nothing more than asking a reasonable and informed question that was relevant to the audience.

As the interview continued, Trump would continue to insult the assembled journalists and Black Americans generally, claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, was not truly a Black woman, but rather “happened to turn Black” just “a few years ago.”

When asked what should have been an easy question about whether he supports the principle of “one person, one vote,” Trump tried to pit Black people against immigrants, going on a rambling monologue about dangerous immigrants coming to the United States to steal “Black jobs,” and offering a vague description of what he meant by the term.

And in what can only be described as a cruel irony, Trump doubled down on his promise to pardon the convicted criminals who brutally assaulted more than 100 police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — an attack that led to the death of at least five officers.

Unlike the Black teenagers he went after with his full-page ad in 1989, the people convicted of the Jan. 6 insurrection actually committed the crime they were accused of. Many were identified because they proudly bragged about it to friends, co-workers and on social media. Yet instead of upholding the rule of law, Trump promised to protect and pardon them. Of course that shouldn’t surprise us; after all, they were doing his bidding.

In short, the fair yet hard-hitting questions from the journalists interviewing Trump, combined with his apparent inability to even attempt to hide his overtly violent, hateful and racist beliefs, allowed the American public to get a crystal-clear image of the Republican candidate. What we saw should be disturbing to all Americans.

Unlike past statements, Trump can’t claim he was taken out of context. The interview was broadcast live, unedited and uninterrupted. The former president was given every opportunity to clarify his past statements and make new statements that welcomed a wide array of diverse followers. Instead, he chose divisiveness over unity, racism over inclusion, and lawlessness over justice.

The impressive Black women who interviewed Trump at the NABJ fulfilled their duty as journalists by helping the public see who and what Donald Trump is. Now it’s our turn to fulfill our duty as American citizens and voters, by keeping Trump and all other candidates who spew his brand of violent and racist vitriol out of public office.