'Off the rails': CNN host says Trump self-destructed and echoed 'birther' remarks

Former President Donald Trump revealed a side of himself that he has desperately tried to hide from Black voters in his tense exchange with reporters at Wednesday's gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists, CNN's Abby Phillip told Jake Tapper.

The question-and-answer session, which had Trump questioning Vice President Kamala Harris' race and calling the journalists "horrible" and "nasty," even left some right-wing outlets and commentators scrambling to do damage control.

"Trump made this bizarre claim that Kamala Harris, quote, 'happened to turn Black,'" said Tapper. "She's obviously identified as Black. Yes, her mom is Indian and her father Jamaican, but she's obviously identified as Black for her whole life. She went to Howard, for God's sake. That's not really outreach to the Black community?"

"I mean, it's really not," agreed Phillip, who went on, "I think that one of the things about this decision of Trump's to come to NABJ, it's based on this premise that he is making inroads with Black voters, particularly Black men. But when the rubber meets the road, I think that the Trump that was on display on that stage is really pretty consistent with what he has been saying all along."

Read also: ‘Shame!': Internet erupts over 'moron' Trump's 'is she Black?' remark at NABJ event

She noted that Trump's questioning of Harris' race echoed his "birther" conspiracy theories from over a decade before that former President Barack Obama might not be an American citizen.

"I'll also say ... I think that when we described this as going off the rails, we should be clear, Trump was the one who seemed to lose control of the situation from the beginning," said Phillip. "The questions were there, and they were very clear. I mean, he was asked about whether he would pardon January 6th rioters. He said that he would, including the ones who assaulted police officers. He was asked about a very high-profile case going on right now involving a Black woman who was killed by a police officer. He didn't know about the case, and he seemed to suggest that the officer involved might qualify for immunity."

"So there were a lot of moments that I don't think were very beneficial to Donald Trump in this interview, but were nevertheless incredibly important to hear from his own mouth, because he is not getting asked about these questions when he goes on the friendly interviews that he's been doing quite a lot of over the last few weeks," Phillip added.

Watch the video below or at the link here.

Abby Phillip on Trump's NABJ meeting www.youtube.com