Former President Donald Trump’s scheduled appearance Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago roiled the organization as many members questioned the decision to provide a platform for the divisive Republican nominee.
“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, one of hundreds reactions to Trump’s appearance on the social media platform.
Karen Attiah, a Washington Post columnist, said on Tuesday she was stepping down as co-chair for the NABJ convention.
“While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format,” Attiah wrote on X. She didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for additional comment Tuesday.
NABJ President Ken Lemon backed the decision to have Trump appear at the convention.
“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,” Lemon said in a statement.
The NABJ also invited Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala 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 while in office or as candidates, the statement noted.
The convention is being held at the Hilton Chicago on South Michigan Avenue. Trump is scheduled to take questions at noon from a panel of three reporters, Rachel Scott of ABC News, Harris Faulkner of Fox News and Kadia Goba of the digital publication Semafor. The discussion will be open to convention attendees and livestreamed, but not open to the public.
Trump’s first publicly announced visit to Chicago in years would come just a few weeks before the full force of the Democratic Party descends on the city for its national convention. The party is expected to celebrate the historic presidential nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris, who would be the first Black woman to lead a presidential ticket.
While supporters of the NABJ’s decision pointed to journalists’ responsibility to ask questions of people in power, others said that the industry convention was not the proper venue for Trump, who in the past has made offensive statements at the expense of people of color and the city of Chicago.
“And like 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 a social media post nodded to the organization’s history of interviewing politicians and presidential candidates.
“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.
Reached by phone, NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry declined to comment on the decision to host Trump and redirected the question to the organization’s press office, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a statement on social media saying the city is prepared for Trump’s visit.
“My administration’s values and practice are in complete opposition to former President Donald Trump’s agenda, but I want the people of Chicago to know that city departments and agencies are fully prepared to uphold safety during his scheduled visit,” Johnson wrote on X.
Trump’s campaign confirmed the appearance late Monday night, saying in an emailed statement that he was to “participate in a conversation with journalists.”
“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.
Trump and Republicans have courted Black voters ahead of the November election, particularly by touting the former president’s economic policies. But his campaign agenda also has called for expanding police practices such as stop and frisk that have disproportionately 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 Chicago Pavilion amid security concerns as thousands of protesters demonstrated in the area.
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