Trump's racism at NABJ was revolting. It was all calculated for his MAGA fan base.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Donald Trump thrives on attention like plants feed off sunlight.
So consider how disconcerting it must have been for our former president to watch our current vice president, Kamala Harris, seize the national spotlight in the opening 10 days of her campaign for the White House.
Trump, left in the shadows, fumed as he was supplanted, whining that Fox News was airing Harris campaign rallies. He’d rather be reviled than ignored.
That explains what happened Wednesday when Trump ranted through a racist tantrum while speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago. Outside the protective bubble of cheering fans at rallies, like the one he held Wednesday evening, and right-wing talking heads telling him how great he is, Trump lashed out.
So predictable. He craved attention. He didn’t care how he got it, a common theme in both his appearances on Wednesday.
Trump's racist remarks about Harris were just the first half of his day
Compare that with how Trump reveled in the adoration of his – overwhelmingly white – fans just a few hours later at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Thousands of people cheered while he rambled through the same old stories about immigration and crime and crime and immigration, with a warning of economic apocalypse here and there.
They didn’t care that Trump spoke in bumper-sticker slogans, never offering any detail about how he would reverse everything that he sees as wrong about America. They didn't mind that Trump often sounded like he was still challenging President Joe Biden, who dropped his bid for reelection on July 21 and endorsed Harris.
What a difference an audience makes.
Trump's racism on full display: At NABJ, Trump's blatant racism and disdain for talented Black women left me appalled
Journalists at the NABJ convention had the temerity to accurately recount for Trump his past statements, smearing and mocking Black politicians and journalists, and then asked him to explain why Black voters should support him. From the start, Trump was angry and off balance, lashing out at ABC News' Rachel Scott for asking a question “in such a horrible manner.”
Trump, of course, didn't even try to answer the question. He was there for attention. Who cares about questions?
Trump used race-baiting with Black journalists to cater to his voting base
But Trump knows it’s not enough just to attack journalists. He’s done this long enough to understand that it takes something absolutely outlandish to grab headlines while Harris is closing in on him in swing-state polling.
Race-baiting in front of a professional organization that represents people of a particular race was his go-to move.
He used NABJ’s platform to ridiculously claim that Harris, the first Black, South Asian and female vice president of the United States, somehow previously presented as being of Indian heritage but then shifted to presenting as Black.
“Is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump asked before adding this lie: “Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went ? she became a Black person.”
Harris’ father immigrated from Jamaica while her mother came to America from India. Her racial identity has been well known and publicly established during her political career as a district attorney, California’s attorney general, in the U.S. Senate and as vice president.
Trump clearly calculated that the revulsion his racism would evoke at NABJ was worth the delight his base would find in it all.
Trump resorted to his usual lies about the Capitol riots when talking to his supporters
In Harrisburg, Trump again tried to rewrite the history of the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol while trying to overturn the election he had lost. "Peacefully and patriotically" was how Trump put it.
He meandered through his recollection of the assassination attempt at his last Pennsylvania rally that left him with a bloody ear while one man died and two more were injured. He toggled between amazement and amusement.
He went on the same weird tangents that are a staple now, talking about the movie character Hannibal Lecter and then complaining about how weird many people find it that he keeps bringing that up at rallies.
Gen Z for Harris: Gen Z is mobilizing for Harris in ways we wouldn't for Biden. The momentum is palpable.
He lied about Democrats cheating in elections, unable to accept that he lost to Biden in 2020.
The crowd soaked it all up. Trump was back in his bubble, in a place where no one would dare ask him a question he didn't want to hear or answer.
Trump made himself clear to his supporters and any voters still on the fence
You might ask: Why give Trump the attention? There were plenty of NABJ members unhappy to see Trump offered a spot on their stage.
But journalists should show people exactly how candidates for public office speak and act, especially if – like Trump – they lack the discipline and integrity to listen to honest questions and then provide forthright answers.
Give Trump every platform he dares to agree to. Ask him to explain himself. Let everyone watch as he fulminates and prevaricates. Then fact-check him. And then fact-check him some more. And then some more.
His supporters won’t care. They’ll call him a victim. His detractors won’t be surprised. They already know he has zero integrity.
But undecided voters should see it all. Every blemish. Every bit of empty bombast. Every tantrum. Every time.
Trump hides from tough questions: When is Trump's 'big boy press conference'? His campaign deflected when I asked.
We can expect to see more of Trump the way we saw him on Wednesday
Consider Trump being asked at NABJ why his party dismisses Harris a “DEI candidate.” He asked for a definition of DEI, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
The panel explained it to him. He then asked again for a definition of DEI. He was impervious to the information.
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Let people see that. Let voters know Trump can't handle the campaign trail unless the conditions are set exactly to his liking. Let them know the guy who wants to be president melts down if things don't go his way.
The Republican National Committee on Wednesday, in an email to journalists, accused Harris of engaging in a “media blackout” because she hasn’t held a news conference after being a candidate for president for a week and a half. The RNC didn’t note that Trump hasn’t held one in more than 20 months.
Wednesday's stops in Chicago and Harrisburg show us why Trump can’t face that. He couldn’t last five minutes. He'd lose it. On camera. For all to see.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NABJ racist comments and MAGA rally lies? It's all in a day for Trump
