Tensions flare at Atlanta-area event as black Republicans urge black men to abandon Democrats

The event, billed as “Congress, Brandy and Cigars” and moderated by former ESPN host Sage Steele, was the second in a series of rallies on why voting Republican benefits the black community, and was part of a broader outreach effort aimed at building support among Black voters supporting former President Donald Trump as he seeks a second term.

But the repeated questions and interruptions from attendees throughout the event showed that while many black men in the room and across the country may be disenchanted with President Biden, they won’t automatically vote for Trump this autumn. Instead, Donalds and Hunt, serving as messengers for the Republican Party and Trump campaign representatives, faced uncomfortable conversations from a largely black audience with complex ideologies — some will never vote for Trump , others are undecided and open to hearing them and still others are looking for other black conservatives.

And even though the situation was tense, that’s what they wanted.

“The worst thing we could do was not show up,” said Hunt, who organized the event at Studio Cigar Lounge in this Atlanta suburb. “But what I want you to understand is this: I heard you. I hear you…I know people are not going to hear our voices and vote for President Trump right now. Maybe you won’t, I hope you will. But maybe you won’t.

Donalds, who is on Trump’s running mate list, added: “I don’t care about image, man. I care about making sure that we’re standing up for… as my 13-year-old son says, ‘We’re standing up for ourselves.’ That’s what I care about.”

Polls show that support for Biden among black voters, the Democratic Party’s most loyal electorate, has weakened in key states like Georgia. And Republicans hope to take advantage of this instability, particularly by targeting black men. Some Republican leaders and operatives acknowledge they are not seeking a majority of black voters — which they say won’t happen — but even the smallest gains could help ensure Trump’s victory in November.

Among the participants was Warner Knowland, 40, He said he came to the event because he wasn’t sure who he was going to support in the election and was “really open.” He voted for Biden in 2020.

“There are a lot of things that could be done a lot better, and that’s why I say I’m open,” said Knowland, a technology company chief executive.

Knowland said he was pleased the event gave him a chance to reflect on policy issues and the differences in opinions among people. For him, job creation, gun control and crime are the main issues that will influence his decision to vote for him.

“Nobody’s perfect. So there’s going to be bad things on the Democratic side and the Republican side,” he added. “At the end of the day, I just want the best for my community.”

Jason Reynolds, a retired software executive who supported Biden in 2020, came to the event with a specific question in mind: Why were Hunt and Donalds among the 192 Republicans who voted for an amendment that would have required a Confederate monument be reinstated at Arlington National Cemetery?

He shouted his question as Steele asked people to name the main issues they were concerned about. He was told to wait until the questions portion of the event to ask – and, when he did, Hunt said he wasn’t celebrating the Confederacy, but recalled living in barracks named after it. honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee during his time in the Army, as a black man, “gave me an appreciation for this country.”

Reynolds said afterwards that the event gave him food for thought, but that it did not influence his policy. He said he plans to vote for Biden in November and doesn’t understand why a black man would support Trump.

Like Reynolds, many black Americans have chafed at Trump’s controversial efforts to win over black voters in recent months, including his repeated suggestion that black voters would gravitate to him because of his indictments and mugshot.

And winning support among Black people remains a tall order for Trump, as Biden also tries to shore up support within the bloc that helped fuel his 2020 candidacy. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll from April found that 74% of Black registered voters say they will “definitely” or “probably” vote for Biden, while just 14% of Black voters say they will definitely or probably support Trump. Among Black men, 19% said they would definitely or probably support Trump.

The event ultimately devolved into a series of counterarguments and, at times, contentious back-and-forths between attendees and members of Congress. After Hunt and Donalds discussed immigration and spoke out against Biden’s policies regarding At the U.S.-Mexico border, Alan Hill shouted, “Where is the Republican bill to fix this?”

Donalds went on to explain what Republicans have proposed and explained that the United States must secure the border and expel people already in the country illegally.

Hill shouted again, “How?”

Donalds began to respond, but more questions and interruptions followed until Horace Holden Jr. jumped out of his seat in the back and began yelling at Hill. “Why are you so concerned about people who came here illegally getting amnesty? And when a black man (goes) on the run for 20 years, when they find him, he doesn’t get amnesty,” Holden Jr. said.

Donalds, from the stage, urged: “Guys, guys. Relax for a second. »

Holden Jr. continued to yell at Hill: “We’re talking about our community, not theirs. So stay on topic.”

The event ended with criticism of Donalds from some attendees following his comments at a rally earlier this month in Philadelphia that fewer black families were divided during the Jim Crow era. Donalds defended his comments, saying they were taken out of context and that he never said this was a better time for black Americans.

Participants nevertheless asked him if he recognized the criticism of his choice of words.

“Let’s call things what they are. Yes, I’m on the running list for vice president. I understand that. The reason my comments were interpreted this way is because Joe Biden’s campaign team, who has no answers to what is really hurting Black Americans today, wants to take my comments and twist them to to say I want Jim Crow back,” Donalds said. “This is insane talk. I don’t want that. »

Hunt and Donalds have said they don’t expect a large share of black voters to vote for Trump this year, but they estimate that 25 to 30 percent of the vote is achievable for the former president. And they have been outspoken in condemning the Republican Party for not making a concerted effort to court black voters in the past.

“If there is one criticism of the way the party – the Republican Party – has run itself over the last 60 years, it is that it has never taken the time to engage voters black people and say, ‘There’s another way, come listen to us,'” Donald said.

Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee, attended the event and spoke to voters before Hunt and Donalds took the stage.

Among those he spoke to and took pictures with was Corey Lea, 53, a self-employed person who said he I voted for Biden in 2020 and will support Trump this year.

Lea acknowledged that Trump has made racist remarks in the past, but Biden also has a history of making racist remarks and has previously praised segregationist senators. And the main reason he supports Trump is because he believes the Biden administration has been destructive to Black farmers and ranchers, promising them help that never came.

“If I had to choose today, I would have to take Donald Trump,” Lea said. “If I don’t, I’ll be signing my own death certificate. I have no other choice.”