During a chaotic and rambling press conference on Thursday, April Ryan, an African-American journalist with the American Urban Radio Networks, asked President Donald Trump if he would be arranging a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss actions he might be taking to help inner cities.
“Well I would,” Trump said. “Do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours? Set up the meeting!”
The bizarre exchange follows Trump’s repeated claims that he is the “least racist person” people would ever meet.
Following the press conference, Ryan appeared on MSNBC to discuss Trump’s comments. “I’m not a facilitator, I’m not a convener,” she said. “I am a White House correspondent. I am a reporter—a journalist.”
She did go on to note that many of the CBC members she covers were eager to meet with Trump about the administration’s policy agenda. Indeed, shortly after the press conference concluded, the CBC tweeted the following:
Hi, @realDonaldTrump. We’re the CBC. We sent you a letter on January 19, but you never wrote us back. Sad! Letter: https://t.co/58KiuHmITF
— The CBC (@OfficialCBC) February 16, 2017
Ryan said on MSNBC that she would be happy to cover such a meeting between Trump and the CBC as a reporter. But she added: “I will not convene, facilitate, nothing.”
Watch:
This story has been updated with April Ryan’s MSNBC comments.
