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“I Was Shocked.” Black Journalist Reacts to Trump Assumption That She’s Friends With Black Members of Congress

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One of the most-discussed moments from President Donald Trump’s rambling, confrontational press conference yesterday was American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan’s question about whether the president would engage the Congressional Black Caucus in his efforts to improve inner city life.

Trump said he’d love to meet with them, but then asked Ryan to set up the meeting.

“I’ll tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting?” Trump said after initially seeming unaware of what CBC stood for. “Do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?
Ryan replied, “No,” adding that she was “just a reporter.”
“Set up the meeting,” Trump said. “Let’s go, set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the black caucus. I think it’s great. The Congressional Black Caucus.”
It turns out that Trump wouldn’t need a reporter to set up the meeting, as the Congressional Black Caucus had already invited him to meet. The group took to Trump’s favorite medium to remind him.

Ryan, who recently tangled with White House communications official Omarosa Manigault, was gracious afterward, despite the assumption that all the black people in Washington are friends.

“I’m thinking maybe because he’s a novice to governance and protocol,” she said on CNN on Thursday.