WASHINGTON (AP) — The scenes of Donald Trump being warmly greeted on Wednesday by a Black audience at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta electrified conservative political media at a moment when Republicans hope to make inroads with Democrats’ most committed voting bloc.
Those widely shared moments were days in the making, an alliance between the Trump campaign, local activists, and students at some of the nation’s most iconic historically Black colleges.
Trump and his allies have argued he can win greater Black support due to his messages on the economy and immigration, a notion President Joe Biden’s campaign rejects. Some of his outreach to African Americans has played on racial stereotypes — promoting $399 branded sneakers or suggesting that Black people would empathize with his dozens of felony charges — and has offended longtime critics and some potential allies.
But the campaign considered Wednesday’s photo opportunity at Chick-fil-A, a stop he made on the way to a fundraiser in Atlanta, a win that produced viral videos shared by his allies and widely discussed by supporters and opponents alike.
“People find it so hard to believe that there are young Black people who would have loved the opportunity to meet Trump,” said Michaelah Montgomery, a conservative activist and founder of Conserve the Culture, which recruits and educates college students and young alumni at Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities.
Montgomery, a former Georgia Republican Party staffer who regularly coordinates events for HBCU students open to conservative ideas to meet with politicians and activists, said she was notified earlier in the week that Trump would visit Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood during his trip to host a high-dollar fundraiser in the city. She notified a private group chat of students she uses to coordinate events and job opportunities about the president’s visit. She received immediate interest in appearing…
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