Source: Bill Clark / Getty
Donald Trump is very likely the most polarizing public figure in modern American history. Anything, anyone, or any group associated with him is instantly subject to criticism, ridicule, and insult. This vitriolic reaction isn’t an immature emotional reaction, it is deeply grounded in the knowledge and experience that Donald John Trump, 53% of white women’s favorite POTUS, is a cataloged liar, a habitual scammer, and as sista Jemele Hill so succinctly stated, a white supremacist. That was just the short list of Trump’s undignified accomplishments. But the rabbit hole goes deep, we could go further, we promise.
We say all that to say that inviting said individual to a Black-a** function is not only bad PR but poor judgment and inexplicable malpractice. However, that is exactly what the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has decided to do. Chaos erupted on Twitter last night after the organization announced that Trump would be in attendance at the 2024 conference this week.
Instantly, everyone from prominent Black journalists to people who have no connection to professional media whatsoever began collectively scratching their heads and firing off soul-piercing tweets toward NABJ, the chairperson, and the organization’s president.
Chairwoman Tia Mitchell spent much of the evening trying to justify her decision, which only further irritated the members who were appalled at her lack of foresight, care, or consideration.
“I helped make this call,” she tweeted and deleted. “And it’s in line with invitations NABJ has sent to every presidential candidate for decades. But continue to go off on your feed. I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next President. “
NABJ President, Ken Lemon, attempted to clean up aisle six, but the damage was already done…
Source: NurPhoto / Gettyhttps://twitter.com/kenlemonnabj/status/1818116134517817438Some folks are defending NABJ’s decision to have Trump as a platform to ask “tough questions” or “seek truth” or whatever other silly journalistic mantras that some feel emotionally beholden to. Donald Trump is not just some “presidential candidate.” He’s all the aforementioned adjectives we used above and much more (see, “worse”). There is no value in talking to him or trying to play “gotcha” games with him. We don’t need more information about his policies, we already know who he is.
