Thursday 16 February 2017
Trump asks black journalist to help set up meeting with Congressional Black Caucus
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| "Let's go, let's set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the Black Caucus," President Donald Trump continued. | AP Photo |
By CRISTIANO LIMA
President Donald Trump, during a heated press conference where he repeatedly sparred with the press, asked veteran African-American journalist April Ryan if she could help set up a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus, asking her, "Are they friends of yours?" Ryan, the Washington bureau chief for the American Urban Radio Networks, asked Trump a question about his plan to fix the inner cities, something the president frequently alluded to on the campaign trail and since his electoral victory.
"When you say the inner cities, are you going to include the CBC, Mr. President, in your conversations with your urban agenda, inner city agenda?" Ryan asked at the contentious White House press conference. "Well I would, tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?" Trump asked. "I'm just a reporter. I know some of them," Ryan replied. "Let's go, let's set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the Black Caucus," Trump continued. The president repeatedly attacked and lashed out at various reporters during the Thursday presser, referring to numerous outlets as "fake news."
Prior to the exchange, Trump decried the conditions in inner cities, saying that many African-Americans are “living in hell” and pledged to be “very strong” on the subject. “There's one Chicago that's incredible, luxurious and all, and safe,” he said. “There's another Chicago that's worse than almost any of the places in the Middle East.” The highly-charged Thursday exchange was the second controversial encounter between the Trump administration and Ryan in recent days, with the veteran White House journalist reportedly accusing communications official and former reality star Omarosa Manigault of physically intimidating her last week. Ryan told the Washington Post Monday that Manigault also verbally threatened her during a White House encounter last week, with Manigault allegedly alluding to a “dossier” of negative information the Trump administration had on her and other journalists.
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