Why I Think Donald Trump’s Presence at NABJ 2024 Is a Mistake

The National Association of Black Journalists will host a panel discussion with Donald Trump on July 31 at its annual conference in Chicago. Here's why I think this is a bad move.

I was bummed that I was going to miss the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention and Career Fair. After hearing the news that former President Donald Trump is attending, I feel like I dodged a bullet (pun very much intended). 

Late Monday, July 29, just days before the first day of the NABJ conference in Chicago, the organization announced via Twitter that Trump would be appearing on a panel along with three Black female panelists on July 31 at noon CT. Unsurprisingly, many people on social media were outraged and disappointed, to say the least…including me. 

For fairness, NABJ co-chair Tia Mitchell tweeted that it has been customary for the NABJ to invite presidential candidates to the conference during an election year for decades. In fact, NABJ invited Trump and his opponents in the past during the 2016 and 2020 elections. While the protocol gives this news some much-needed context, I feel that Donald Trump isn’t like any other presidential candidate. 

Attendees of the NABJ conventions, past and present, have undoubtedly represented numerous sides of the political sphere. Some are Liberals, some are Conservatives, some are Centrists, etc. So, the presence of Republican candidates at the NABJ conference would be intriguing, giving many Black journalists opportunities to engage in an honest discourse about their respective performances, viewpoints, and actions. But again, having Trump there will not accomplish anything constructive for the attendees of the conference, in my opinion. 

In a best-case scenario, Trump would get his feet held to the proverbial fire by the three Black female panelists - moderator Kadia Goba Semafor, ABC News’ Rachel Scott, and Fox News’ Harris Faulkner - as well as any the discussion from attendees if a Q&A is allowed. But Trump’s peerless ego makes him impervious to authentically digesting criticism. Therefore, any such cross-examination would go in one ear and out the other (half) ear. 

In a worst-case scenario, this gives Trump a platform to spew his tiresome rhetoric about how much he loves “the Blacks,” and how much he and his administration did for Black Americans to make another run for the Oval Office. As a result, there’s a good possibility that he won’t receive the harsh, but fair, questions and condemnations that he has earned from such an audience. 

Throughout his adult life in the public eye, Trump has proven himself to be an entitled, xenophobic narcissist whose number one concern is advancing himself, and his fortune, and re-affirming his unshakable opinion of himself. Just observe his interactions with any reporter who confronted him on facts about him and his administration that he deems a negative reflection of himself. He was either dismissive, like in his 2020 interview with Axios, unresponsive, like his 2020 interview with 60 Minutes, and/or dishonest, like nearly all of his interviews during his presidency. 

Trump’s undying assertion that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden continues to this day. He is the only Presidential candidate in recent memory to lose an election not to state formal concession. Following Biden’s victory, Trump made a speech that Biden would be the President but continued to insist that it came through an unfair process and that he was the real victor. So, what good would it do for Black journalists to listen to Trump prop himself as an infallible savior to the nation, especially when he has illustrated that he does not respect anyone in that room? 

To go further, here is a list of five reasons why Donald Trump should not be attending the 2024 NABJ convention in Chicago:

Trump’s Disrespect Towards Chicago

During his presidency, Trump spoke very ill of Chicago. In 2019, he mocked the city, saying it was so violent that it’s safer in the Middle East. "It's embarrassing to us as a nation. All over the world, they're talking about Chicago,” Trump said. “Afghanistan is a safe place by comparison, it's true.” Trump was regurgitating the tactics of the Republican party and used Chicago’s so-called Black-on-Black crime to deflect discourse about other issues, like police brutality against Black citizens at the hands, and guns, of white law enforcement. I feel that Trump has no business attending an event in Chicago addressing Black people. It’s hypocritical and insensitive.  

Trump’s War Against Journalism

Trump has a terrible relationship with the media. Less than a month after taking office, he referred to the media, specifically the New York Times, CNN, and NBC News as “the enemy of the American people.” Throughout his term, Trump repeatedly called to the press as the “enemy of the people.” As I stated earlier, Trump is a narcissist and believes that all criticism against him is wrong. Certainly, the media has had its problems with biased reporting. But for Trump to call the media an “enemy of the American people” is dangerous, and devalues the work of the attendees of the conference. 

Trump’s Inexcusable Insults Towards Black Female Reporters

Trump has gone out of his way to insult Black female reporters. Trump called White House correspondent April Ryan, former NABJ Journalist of the Year winner, “a loser,” and told other Black female correspondents like Abby D. Phillip, “I’ve watched you a lot and you ask a lot of stupid questions.” The fact that he felt comfortable enough to disrespect these women so vigorously without any fear of accountability or consequence is sickening. Why would the NABJ subject Black female professionals to any possible ridicule, or gaslighting, which could trigger many other Black female attendees?

Trump’s Inescapable Racism & Xenophobia

Regardless of his claims about helping Black communities during his term, Trump’s negative views of Black and Brown people are well-documented. Let’s not forget that in 1989, he went out of his way to take out a full-page ad in the New York Times to express how he felt the then “Central Park Five” should be executed for a crime that they, at the time, had yet to be convicted of, and have since been exonerated for. During a 2018 meeting in the Oval Office, Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as “shithole countries,” according to The Washington Post. He criticized former President Barack Obama and former Senator Hillary Clinton for not using the term “radical Islamic terrorism,” while early in his own administration, signed off on a travel ban of Muslim nations - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen - despite many of them not reporting to have acts of terror, keeping many family members of those nations separated for years.

NABJ Is Supposed To Be A Safe Space

In 2022, I attended my first-ever NABJ conference as a writer for theGrio. Held in Las Vegas, the atmosphere was inviting, informative, welcoming, and inspiring. I witnessed hundreds of fellow Black and Brown media members either attending the career fair, partaking in workshops and panels, or enjoying themselves at one of the various networking events and parties. I got to meet some great new people, make some great connections, and even ran into some old colleagues and caught up on old times. I imagine many others shared my experience. 

This is a crucial time for Black media members. We have experienced massive layoffs at companies like Paramount Global, Sports Illustrated, Okayplayer, Vice Media, Allen Media Group, and The Los Angeles Times, just to name a few. With so many of us out of work, this year’s conference couldn’t have come at a more important time. People need to find new job opportunities via the career fair or through networking with fellow attendees or learn new ways to pivot their skills into an alternate field. But just as important, it comes at a time when the attendees need to personally fellowship with each other with fun activities and mutual affirmations and reassurances of hope. 

Therefore, I believe the presence of Donald Trump at the conference - ON THE FIRST DAY, NO LESS - could sour the event. It takes away from the spirit of what the NABJ conference is supposed to represent. It makes the organizers look like they are more concerned with making headlines than fostering a safe space for Black journalists. NABJ co-chair Karen Attaih seemed to think so, as she announced that she stepped down from her post immediately following news of Trump’s panel. 

What’s more damning is the report from theGrio that Vice President, and Trump’s presumed opponent Kamala Harris, was denied by NABJ from an opportunity to speak at this year’s conference via a virtual fireside chat. 

I still respect the NABJ and all that they have done for Black media makers like me. I cannot say for sure what their rationale was behind allowing Trump to speak at the conference, considering all of the aforementioned reasons, and that doesn’t even include the fact that he allegedly incited an insurrection in the U.S. Capital, was found liable for sexual abuse, and is a convicted felon. But now, at best, the NABJ 2024 convention is more about the Trump panel and less about the opportunities for Black journalists. At worst, the organizers could be complicit in his possible re-election. Either way, NABJ will have to live with that. 

To my fellow media makers who are at the conference: have a great time and take something from the experience. If you feel betrayed, I don’t blame you. If you feel that the Trump panel is a good idea, I respect your opinion. At the end of the day, let’s not forget what’s really important - helping each other.

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