A Trump supporter who met the former president at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A spoke out Friday against the media's coverage of Black voters, accusing mainstream outlets of "warping" the perception about Trump's popularity in the community.
Conserve the Culture founder Michaelah Montgomery, who went viral Wednesday when she hugged Trump during his visit to the restaurant, joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss the exchange.
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"The general consensus or social media would have you thinking that if President Trump were to show up to the HBCU campuses … that like, some angry mob would form or a riot would ensue and that he would not be welcome, and clearly the sentiment in that room the other day was the complete opposite," Montgomery told Lawrence Jones.
"He was very welcome. People were excited to see him. People showed up in support of him, and people, of course, were from all four institutions within the AUC, the local HBCU community in Atlanta, and they all showed up in support of him," she continued.
Trump stopped at the Atlanta Chick-fil-A to speak with supporters, buying them food and milkshakes, before attending a fundraiser in the area.
Montgomery was at that location and shouted to him, "I don't care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you."
In response, Trump smiled and hugged her.
"I really appreciate that we were able to not only let him know that regardless of what social media says… I know they're trying to make us think we're supposed to hate you, but we don't," Montgomery said, recalling the interaction.
"And additionally, it was a learning experience for my students because they were able to see and experience firsthand how the media can warp that perception of an opinion or a person."
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"Because, like I said, to think that these students who attend these illustrious institutions aren't smart enough to make their own decisions, so much so that they would only show support for Trump because he bought chicken sandwiches and milkshakes… that in itself is the most disturbing part of it all," she continued.
"Especially when you think about the fact that it was mainly urban media outlets that were doing everything in their power to turn other Black people against these young Black kids who simply were not shy to explore other options."
A New York Times/Siena poll released last month has sparked concern among some liberal pundits worried that President Biden is losing Black voters – historically a very Democratic voting bloc – to Trump.
According to the new numbers, 23% of Black voters support Trump as of Feb. 2024. That number is a massive increase from where his Black support was in Oct. 2020, at 4%.
Montgomery argued the pivot in the Black community stems from Trump's authenticity and his ability to communicate clearly regarding his agenda.
"They feel like he's honest. They feel like this is somebody who, while we might not agree with how he says things, how he goes about things, at least he's telling us what it is," Montgomery said.
"We don't feel like this is a snake in the grass waiting for his chance to bite us. This is somebody who's telling us this is what my plan is. Here's how I plan to execute it. Here's the people involved, and here's how you can get involved."
"They just feel like he's more relatable," she continued. "They really feel like this is somebody who's talking to them and not just saying what they want to hear."
Meanwhile, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released in January, Biden's support among Black voters has fallen to just 63%, down from the 92% that Pew Research Center data shows he won in the 2020 presidential election. His support among Hispanic voters is down to 34% from 59%.
Montgomery accused Biden of trying to oppress the Black community during his tenure as a United States senator.
"He locked up a lot of people that look like me, and they're still sitting in jail waiting for… justice, an appeal of some sort," she said. "So when it comes to what Joe Biden has done for Black America, if we look specifically at his record as a senator, it wasn't it wasn't something that benefited us at all."
"If anything, one could argue that he dedicated his entire senatorial career to disrupting the way of life… for Black people," Montgomery continued.
"He didn't want Black kids going to the same school as his kids. He didn't want Black people walking on the sidewalk along with his mother and grandmother."
Fox News' Gabriel Hays and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
