Fact Check Dispute Delayed Donald Trump Interview At NABJ Convention: Reports

CHICAGO — A fact-checking dispute delayed former President Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention Wednesday in Chicago, according to the organization's president.

The Republican nominee threatened not to take the stage if the association conducted real-time fact-checking during his interview with a panel of three journalists, NABJ President Ken Lemon told Axios.

Lemon, who refused to compromise, said he had been preparing a statement explaining the delay to the nearly 2,000 attendees gathered at the Hilton Chicago when Trump eventually took the stage about an hour late.

"Our whole team stood our ground," Lemon said.

Politifact conducted the live fact check, which had been announced prior to the interview.

The report of the impasse is consistent with earlier reporting.

Citing a person familiar with the planning, the New York Times reported the former president "pushed back on NABJ staffers who wanted to live fact check the event."

And another anonymous source told NBC that Trump learned about the fact checking plans from leaked opening remarks and felt "blindsided" by the Politifact partnership.

Trump's campaign staff blamed the delay on "audio/technical issues."

The NABJ president told Axios that the problems with the sound were resolved "very quickly."

During the interview, both Trump and the interviewers acknowledged problems with the audio.

"The bigger problem was his threat not to take the stage when he had agreed to go on," Lemon said. "He did not want to be fact-checked, but we could not let him on the stage without fact-checking."

When Trump took the stage, he began by attacking Rachel Scott of ABC News for asking him a tough question in a "hostile manner" and asserting that he had been invited under false pretenses.

"Just so we understand, I have too much respect for you to be late," Trump said. "They couldn’t get their equipment working or something was wrong."

The former president went on to pledge to pardon people convicted of crimes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, offered to take a cognitive test and mused that the candidate's pick of a running mate has little effect on the eventual outcome of presidential elections.

"You’re voting for the president. You’re voting for me," he said. "If you like me, I’m going to win. If you don’t like me, I’m not going to win."

Earlier:

• Trump Falsely Questions Harris' Race At Black Journalists Conference
• Watch: Trump Speaks At NABJ Conference In Chicago
• Trump To Attend Black Journalists' Convention In Chicago