Harris Faulkner contends Trump’s NABJ visit was ‘not what it should have been’

Fox News host Harris Faulkner addressed former President Donald Trump’s appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday, during which she says things got “pretty fiery” onstage.

Trump’s appearance at the event began with ABC News journalist Rachel Scott asking aggressive questions to the former president, including whether it was “appropriate” for him to be there. Trump pushed back against Scott, claiming he had never been “asked a question in such a horrible manner,” and that Scott did not even begin the interview by saying hello.

“Yeah, race is a tough issue,” Faulkner, who was one of the moderators, said on The Faulkner Focus. “It doesn’t matter when it comes up, and when there is emotion mixed in, it gets even tougher. So those moments were really hard to be in the room for, for some people. I was really glad I was there to witness it, because right from the get, it was not what it should have been.”

Harris noted how Trump’s appearance at the convention was intended to be “a really wide ranging interview,” and that it even started off “harmoniously.” However, the event then dissolved into a “very emotional” experience.

Caroline Sunshine, the Trump campaign’s deputy communications director, said that the word of the day among Trump’s campaign after the event was “fake, fake, fake, vs fight, fight, fight.” She added that this reflects the election, as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, “allows the fake news media to do her bidding” while Trump “willingly” goes into environments where he is not fully welcome.

Sunshine also commended Faulkner for not following Scott’s lead by “deciding to play commentator” onstage, as Scott did a disservice to the event’s audience.

Sen J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump’s 2024 running mate, has also applauded Trump’s appearance at the event, arguing he “showed he had the courage to take tough questions” by attending the event. He also claimed Harris “continues to hide from any scrutiny or unfriendly media.”

A topic of criticism many have made over Trump’s appearance at the event was when he questioned Kamala Harris’s ethnicity, with the former president arguing she identified as Indian for the longest time before identifying as black. Trump’s comments have been condemned by former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who wrote on X that it is “unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity.”

Many Republicans have called for their fellow lawmakers to scale back comments against Harris’s ethnicity and instead focus on her handling of policies in the election. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), for instance, has argued the 2024 election will be determined by “policies and not personalities.”