Two of former President Trump’s key allies in the House of Representatives visited Atlanta on Wednesday to mobilize Black voters ahead of his November rematch with President Biden.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) and Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.) are hosting an event called “Congress, Cognac and Cigars” at a cigar lounge in the Peach State, along with former ESPN host Sage Steele.
An invitation for the event, obtained by Fox News Digital, stated in capital letters that the event was “A REAL CONVERSATION ABOUT BLACK MALE VOTING, LEADERSHIP, AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE 2024 ELECTION.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Hunt said black voters, especially in states like Georgia, will be “paramount” in determining the winner of the next presidential election.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (left) and Rep. Byron Donald are campaigning to get black male voters to the polls for former President Trump. (Getty Images)
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“The problem is that Republicans have never done a good job of going to these communities and explaining why our policies are best for black communities,” Hunt said. “Black issues are American issues. We just need a voice to say that.”
“You no longer have to vote Democrat because your mom or your grandma or your parents told you to. The Republican Party is here to serve your interests. If you hate what’s going on at the border, if you hate what’s going on with inflation, if you hate crime, I say this… [Trump] It would certainly be in your best interest to have him back in power.”
Hunt said this is part of Trump’s broader strategy to capture the 25% to 35% of the black male vote, which was crucial to Biden’s victory in the 2020 Democratic primary and general election and is likely to play a key role in the fall campaign.
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President Biden received significantly better support among black voters in 2020 than President Trump. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
According to multiple exit polls, Trump won 19% of black male voters in 2020, but the majority of black voters still voted for Biden.
“This is the best for a Republican president in modern history,” Hunt said. “We need to grow about five or six percentage points more than we did four years ago, and I think we can get there given where we are right now.”
The first “Congress, Cognac and Cigars” event was held in Philadelphia, and Hunt said the next one will be in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is being held next month.
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Hunt said the black vote will be crucial in determining the winner of the presidential election. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
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Hunt said the last election showed Republicans could make some gains among Black women, who also voted overwhelmingly for Biden in 2020.
“The biggest takeaway from this event is that while Byron and I have been really focused on black men, there are people in the room who have raised their hands and stood up and said, ‘Don’t forget us. I’m a black woman, I vote for President Trump, and I’m tired of this. I’m not saying you’re going to have as many of us as you do men, but what I am saying is I want these events to be targeted to the black community, not just to black men,'” the congressman said.
