Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a panel discussion Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, which is being held in Chicago.
“While NABJ does not endorse political candidates as a journalism organization, we understand the serious work of our members, and welcome the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know,” NABJ President Ken Lemon said in a statement.
Trump’s first publicly announced visit to Chicago in years is expected just a few weeks before the full force of the Democratic Party descends on the city for its national convention, with the party expected to celebrate the historic presidential nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is expected to become the first woman of color to lead a presidential ticket.
The NABJ also invited Harris to participate in the convention and “her confirmation is pending,” the organization said in a statement late Monday. Other former chief executives, including former President Barack Obama, have participated in NABJ conventions either as presidents or candidates, the statement noted.
Trump’s campaign confirmed the appearance late Monday night, saying in an emailed statement that he was “participate in a conversation with journalists” at the NABJ event. It will be held on noon on Wednesday.
“Black voters know that President Trump is the only presidential candidate who can deliver results on day one because he already has,” the Trump campaign said in the statement.
The Q&A will be moderated by Rachel Scott of ABC News, Harris Faulkner of Fox News and Kadia Goba of the digital publication Semafor. It will be livestreamed and open to convention attendees but not open to the general public.
Trump has said he wants to court Black voters for the November election, particularly with his economic policies. He also has called to expand practices including stop and frisk that have disproportionately negatively affected Black Americans.
During Trump’s first visit to Chicago as president in 2019, he was met by hundreds of protesters and lobbed criticism at the city’s then-police superintendent and other city leaders.
As a candidate for president in 2016, Trump was forced to cancel a rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion amid security concerns as thousands of protesters demonstrated in the area.
Reaction on social media immediately after the NABJ’s announcement was mixed.
“This is such a poor decision by @NABJ that it’s difficult to put into words,” Jim Trotter, a sports journalist and NABJ’s 2023 Journalist of the Year, wrote on X.
“[L]ike many people said, this is where you go to get away from the hostility of your newsroom. It’s supposed to be your safe space,” Chicago-based journalist and author Arionne Nettles wrote of the convention, which serves as a gathering and networking space for Black journalists.
Tia Mitchell, a Washington-based correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said she helped make the decision to host Trump and in social media posts Monday night said she stood by the decision to invite Trump.
“Members can disagree. No one is forcing them to attend. But there is precedent of such invitations and great care taken with this particular one,” Mitchell wrote.