‘Epic Meltdown’: Donald Trump has disastrous interview in Chicago at the NABJ Conference

Trump Questioned VP Harriss Identity RIGHT NOW. >>> HI THERE, EVERYONE. 4:00 IN NEW YORK. EPIC MELTDOWN FROM THE EX-PRESIDENT THIS AFTERNOON, SPEAKING WITH THREE JOURNALISTS AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO. A CONVERSATION THAT IMPLODED RIGHT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES ON LIVE TV. ESSENTIALLY RIGHT OUT OF THE GATES. TRUMP IMMEDIATELY BREAKING INTO A TIRADE AGAINST THE FIRST MODERATOR, RACHEL SCOTT, OF ABC NEWS, WHO ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS PAST COMMENTS ON RACE. AND THEN TRUMP QUESTIONED VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS' RACIAL IDENTITY. TAKE A LISTEN. >> SOME OF YOUR OWN SUPPORTERS INCLUDING REPUBLICANS ON CAPITOL HILL HAVE LABELED VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS WHO IS THE FIRST BLACK AND ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO SERVE AS VICE PRESIDENT TO BE ON A MAJOR PARTY TICKET AS A DEI HIRE. IS THAT ACCEPTABLE LANGUAGE TO YOU? AND WILL YOU TELL THOSE REPUBLICANS AND THOSE SUPPORTERS TO STOP IT? >> HOW DO YOU DEFINE DEI? GO AHEAD. HOW DO YOU DEFINE IT? >> DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION. >> YEAH, IS THAT YOUR DEFINITION? WOULD YOU GIVE ME YOUR DEFINITION? GIVE ME A DEFINITION. >> SIR, I'M ASKING YOU A QUESTION. >> DEFINE IT FOR ME, IF YOU WOULD. >> I JUST DEFINED IT SIR. DO YOU BELIEVE VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS IS ONLY ON THE TICKET BECAUSE SHE'S A BLACK WOMAN. >> I CAN SAY, NOW I THINK IT IS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. SO, I'VE KNOWN HER A LONG TIME INDIRECTLY, NOT DIRECTLY, VERY MUCH. AND SHE WAS ALWAYS OF INDIAN HERITAGE AND SHE WAS ONLY PROMOTING INDIAN HERITAGE. I DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS BLACK. UNTIL A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO WHEN SHE HAPPENED TO TURN BLACK AND NOW SHE WANTS TO BE KNOWN AS BLACK. SO I DON'T KNOW, IS SHE INDIAN OR IS SHE BLACK? >> SHE HAS ALWAYS IDENTIFIED AS A BLACK -- SHE WENT TO A HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE. >> I RESPECT EITHER ONE. SHE OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T. SHE WAS INDIAN ALL THE WAY AND SHE MADE A TURN AND SHE WENT -- SHE BECAME A BLACK PERSON. >> JUST TO BE CLEAR, SIR, DO YOU BELIEVE SHE'S -- >> I THINK SOMEBODY SHOULD LOOK Trump Defends Black Jobs INTO THAT TOO WHEN YOU ASK TO CONTINUE IN A VERY HOSTILE AND NASTY TONE. >> DO YOU BELIEVE VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS IS A DEI HIRE? >> I DON'T KNOW. COULD BE. >> IT IS AMAZING HE'S GOTTEN AWAY WITH THAT FOR AS LONG AS HE HAS. IT APPEARS TO BE OVER. THE 35 MINUTE CONVERSATION WAS LIKE THAT BASICALLY THROUGHOUT, IT REMAINED CONTENTIOUS. TRUMP EVEN DEFENDED HIS BLACK JOBS COMMENT IN A ROOM FULL OF BLACK JOURNALISTS. >> I WILL TELL YOU THAT COMING -- COMING FROM THE BORDER ARE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT HAPPEN TO BE TAKING Vice President Kamala Harriss Response BLACK JOBS. YOU HAD THE BEST -- >> WHAT EXACTLY IS A BLACK JOB, SIR? >> A BLACK JOB IS ANYBODY THAT HAS A JOB. THAT'S WHAT IT IS. ANYBODY THAT HAS A JOB. >> ALL RIGHT. >> VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS' RESPONSE TO ALL OF THIS, ABSOLUTE DISASTER FOR DONALD TRUMP. THIS IS WHO HE IS. A SOURCE CLOSE TO VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS TELLS NBC NEWS IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP'S CLAIM THAT SHE, QUOTE, BECAME BLACK, QUOTE, IT IS SIMPLY A LIE AND EASILY DISPROVED. SHE WENT TO HOWARD FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, SHE'S AN AKA, REFERRING TO SORORITY ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA. KARINE JEAN-PIERRE FIRST LAUGHED AND THEN SAID THIS. >> AS A BLACK WOMAN IN THIS POSITION STANDING BEFORE YOU AT THIS PODIUM BEHIND THIS LECTERN, WHAT HE JUST SAID WHAT YOU JUST READ OUT TO ME IS REPULSIVE, IT IS INSULTING, AND, YOU KNOW, NO ONE HAS ANY RIGHT TO TELL SOMEONE WHO THEY ARE, HOW THEY IDENTIFY, THAT IS NO ONE'S RIGHT. IT IS SOMEONE'S OWN DECISION, IT IS -- I'LL ADD THIS, ONLY SHE CAN SPEAK TO HER EXPERIENCE. ONLY SHE CAN SPEAK TO WHAT IT IS LIKE. SHE'S THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN DO THAT. AND I THINK IT IS INSULTING FOR ANYBODY, DOESN'T MATTER IF IT IS A FORMER LEADER, A FORMER Al Sharpton Claire McCaskill PRESIDENT, IT IS INSULTING. AND WE HAVE TO PUT -- SHE IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. KAMALA HARRIS. WE HAVE TO PUT SOME RESPECT ON HER NAME. >> SOME OF OUR FAVORITE EXPERTS AND FRIENDS, REVEREND AL SHARPTON JOINS US, HOST OF "POLITICS NATION," PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK. WITH ME AT THE TABLE, CO-HOST OF MSNBC'S PODCAST, OUR FRIEND CLAIRE McCASKILL IS HERE. JOINING US, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT YAMICHE ALCINDOR AT THE CONVENTION IN CHICAGO WATCHING TRUMP'S APPEARANCE AS IT TOOK PLACE. SHE IS ALSO OUR CORRESPONDENT ON THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN. YAMICHE, I'LL START WITH YOU. JUST GO THROUGH -- I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU RANK THE OFFENSES, NOT JUST TO THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, BUT TO EVERYBODY. BUT TAKE A STAB AT IT FOR US. >> WELL, I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S REALLY A REMARKABLE MOMENT IN WHAT HAS BEEN A REMARKABLE CAMPAIGN SEASON. TO SEE FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP IN FRONT OF A GROUP OF BLACK JOURNALISTS WHO INVITED HIM TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT POLICY, ABOUT HIS VIEWS ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, ABOUT HIS VIEWS ABOUT AMERICA AND HIS VISION FOR THE FUTURE, AND TO HAVE HIM GO AFTER VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS IN THIS WAY THAT IS REALLY, REALLY QUESTIONING HER IDENTITY, QUESTIONING HER AUTHENTICITY, WAS REALLY, REALLY SOMETHING TO BEHOLD. AND I THINK IT IS SOMEONE WHO IS COVERING THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN AND COVERED THE VICE PRESIDENT, BUT WHEN SHE WAS A SENATOR WAY BACK MORE THAN A DECADE NOW, I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING HER WORK AND INTERVIEWING HER, IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT SHE HAS BEEN VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY POINTED AND ALSO VERY, VERY ARTICULATE WHEN IT COMES TO TALKING ABOUT HER BACKGROUND, TALKING ABOUT WHAT SHE GOT FROM HER MOTHER, AND HER FATHER, HER FATHER BEING A BLACK MAN WHO WAS OF JAMAICAN DESCENT, HER MOTHER BEING SOMEONE WHO WAS INDIAN, SHE TALKS ABOUT HOW THAT -- THAT BACKGROUND AND HER PARENTS MEETING AT CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, TAKING HER TO PROTESTS IN A STROLLER, THAT HE HAD HER IDENTITY REALLY, REALLY VERY CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD, UNDERSTOOD HER IDENTITY AS FROM WHAT SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL. SO TO HEAR HIM SAY SHE HAD BEEN CLAIMING TO ONLY BE INDIAN AND ONLY NOW IS TALKING -- ONLY NOW IS TALKING ABOUT BEING AFRICAN AMERICAN IS JUST FRANKLY NOT TRUE, NICOLLE. SHE WENT TO A HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE, SHE PLEDGED AND JOINED A HISTORICALLY BLACK SORORITY, THE FIRST HISTORICALLY AFRICAN AMERICAN SORORITY FOUNDED IN THIS COUNTRY, AND SHE'S TIME AND TIME AGAIN THROUGHOUT HER CAREER TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RACIAL JUSTICE AND TIEING IT BACK TO HER OWN IDENTITY, SO THIS REALLY IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS -- IT IS REALLY HARD TO FATHOM THAT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP THOUGHT THAT THIS INSULT, THIS ATTACK WAS GOING TO LAND. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO EVEN SAY THIS. AND IN TALKING TO PEOPLE YOU READ SOME OF THE REPORTING I GOT, I WAS SITTING IN THE ROOM AND PEOPLE WERE STUNNED. TO TAKE YOU BEHIND THE SCENES, PEOPLE WERE STUNNED, PEOPLE WERE GASPING, SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE SHOUTING BACK AT HIM, SAYING THAT'S A LIE. SO THE ROOM, THE ATMOSPHERE I THINK WAS ALREADY SORT OF TENSE BECAUSE THIS IS THE PRESIDENT THAT HAS ATTACKED A MEMBER OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS. A LOT OF QUESTIONS OF WHETHER OR NOT HE SHOULD BE INVITED. EVERYONE HAD DIFFERENT OPINIONS. WHEN HE STARTED TALKING ABOUT HER RACE, IT REALLY JUST I THINK REALLY MADE THE ROOM FEEL VERY MUCH LIKE THIS IS -- THIS IS A PALPABLE ANGER FROM SOME PEOPLE, AND, AGAIN, JOURNALISTS, WE'RE COVERING HIM OBJECTIVELY, COVERING HIM FAIRLY, BUT YOU START TO SAY THINGS SIMPLY NOT TRUE AND GOING AFTER SOMEONE'S BLACKNESS IT REALLY HURTS. I WANT TO READ SOME OF THE THINGS I GOT. COMPLETELY UNHINGED. THIS IS TRUMP, HE CANNOT HELP HIMSELF. SOMEONE ELSE SAID, COMPLETELY INSULTING AND REPULSIVE, EXACTLY WHAT KARINE JEAN-PIERRE SAID FROM THE PODIUM. SOMEBODY SAID IT IS A LIE, EASILY DISPROVEN, SHE WENT TO HOWARD FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. ANOTHER PERSON SAID THIS IS PAINFUL. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT REVEREND SHARPTON CAN TALK ABOUT, THERE IS A WHOLE HISTORY OF BLACK PEOPLE HAVING TO DEAL WITH DISCRIMINATION AND DEALING WITH PEOPLE TAKING THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR RACE. AND WHO THEY ARE. AND VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS HAS REALLY FOUND HERSELF IN THE LINEAGE OF THAT. IN SELMA, ALABAMA, AT THE BRIDGE TALKING ABOUT RACIAL JUSTICE AND TO HAVE THIS SORT OF -- THERE CAN BE POLICY DIFFERENCES, RIGHT? YOU CAN HAVE DIFFERENT VISIONS OF THE WORLD. THIS ATTACK WAS SOMETHING THAT