After former President Donald Trump greeted some young Black students during a Chick-fil-A visit in Atlanta, Democratic strategists are throwing cold water on any suggestions that the viral moment signals broader support for him among young Black voters.
“I don’t think that changes the established norm that Donald Trump has an agenda that’s pretty hostile to Black folks overall,” Joel Payne, a Democratic strategist, told theGrio. “It doesn’t mean that every African-American voter will feel that way. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t outlier opinions that exist.”
On Wednesday, Trump dropped in at a Chick-fil-A restaurant near Atlanta’s prominent HBCUs: Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College. The Republican presidential candidate, who faces four criminal charges – including one in Atlanta prosecuted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – greeted the mostly young, Black customers and workers.
The former president, who purchased milkshakes for the young patrons, was met with smiles and glee, including from Michaelah Montgomery, who told him, “I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you.” Trump then offered to hug Montgomery, who later declared, “Tell my momma I made it!”
According to her LinkedIn account, Montgomery graduated from Clark Atlanta in 2020 and is the founder of Conserve the Culture, a conservative grassroots group. She appeared to suggest to Fox News on Friday that the students at the Chick-fil-A were part of her organization.
Though the planned Trump visit (the Chick-fil-A chain is owned by one of his golf club members) garnered a lot of social media attention, political experts say it doesn’t change the facts about Trump’s standing with Black voters.
“I don’t want to overblow a minor viral moment inside of a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta and make it seem like … Donald Trump is winning Black people,” said…
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