Trump Refused to Take NABJ Stage Unless They Called Off Live Fact Check, Per NABJ President

(Screengrab via YouTube)

Former President Donald Trump refused to take the stage at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention in Chicago on Wednesday unless assurances were made that he would not be fact-checked live during his interview.

NABJ President Ken Lemon told Axios that Trump’s team insisted that the interview proceed without real-time fact-checking, threatening that Trump would not participate otherwise. The Q&A, featuring prominent Black journalists, including ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Fox News’ Harris Faulkner , was stalled for over an hour.

At the time, Trump blamed technical and audio issues for the delay, but Lemon claimed that “they were resolved very quickly.”

“The bigger problem was his threat not to take the stage,” Lemon added.

The tense standoff nearly resulted in NABJ leaders explaining to an audience of 2,000 why Trump would not appear. The convention eventually went forward with real-time fact-checking taking place in partnership with Politifact .

The incident has sparked debate within NABJ about whether Trump should have been invited at all, with some members calling the situation “embarrassing” while others praised the journalists for their tough questioning of the former president.

Correction (8/2/24) : NABJ partnered with Politfact to fact check the interview with Trump in real-time. You can access that feed on social media. An earlier version of this story claimed the convention went forward without fact-checking.