Former President Donald Trump’s interaction with a supporter at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday has gone viral.
Trump’s deputy director of communications, Margo Martin, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a video of the former president’s interaction with a Black woman supporter as she tells the former president: “I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you!”
The video has already garnered more than 60,000 views as many others continue to share the video.
Context
Trump is set to face off against President Joe Biden later this year in a rematch of the 2020 election, as each candidate has won enough delegates to secure their party’s presidential nomination. Ahead of this vote, some reports and polls have suggested there has been racial realignment, with Black voters, who traditionally support the Democratic Party, opting to vote for Republicans instead.
However, new research from Pew Research Center suggests otherwise. A survey shows that 83 percent of Black voters favor the Democratic Party, a 3 percent decline from 1994.
On the other hand, 12 percent support the Republican Party, a 1 percent decline from 1994. While the research did not ask voters about specific candidates, only parties, the polling still suggests Trump would perform marginally better than in his previous election, where he won 8 percent of the Black vote in 2020.
Meanwhile, according to U.S. Census Bureau, 33.1 percent of Georgia’s population is Black and there is a growing population of Black people in the Atlanta area.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
What We Know
Amid a campaign stop in Atlanta for a fundraising luncheon, which Trump is expected to attend, he made a stop at local Chick-fil-A, surprising customers inside.
In the video, the Atlanta resident makes her support of Trump known as she accepts an invitation from the former president to hug her.
In addition to the interaction with the woman, Trump spoke to employees and customers, took pictures with guests and autographed a hat.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment.
Views
The interaction comes after Mary Frances Berry, a historian at Penn State University, cited economic reasons for Trump gaining more of the Black vote share.
“Black males especially cite prices of basic needs, food for example despite the decline in inflation,” Berry told Newsweek in January. “Some who are small business owners say under Trump it was easier for them to get federal loans, for example. They also cite the backlash against police accountability measures as the George Floyd murder discussion has receded into the sunset.
“Middle age and older Black women seem to take a…lesser of two evils posture. But nobody I know is excited about reelecting Biden. They like Kamala Harris, but lots of folks will probably stay home unless some unexpected positive change in economic prospects or civil rights occurs.”
However, the interaction comes after Trump faced backlash over recent remarks about Black and Jewish voters.
During an interview with right-wing radio host Wayne Allyn Root on Monday, Trump argued that “any Jewish person” who votes for Biden “does not love Israel” and “should be spoken to.” He then suggested that most Black and Jewish voters choose Biden and other Democratic candidates because they have “a bad habit.”
What’s Next?
Trump was due to attend a fundraising luncheon in Atlanta with hosts including former Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones also posted on X that he would be among the hosts.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.