POTUS to Launch ‘Black Voices for Trump' in Atlanta Visit
Nov. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump will travel to Atlanta Friday to meet with high-end donors and launch a coalition of African-American supporters.
Trump was scheduled to arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base late Friday morning before heading to Buckhead for the six-figure donor lunch. Afterward, he was set for a mid-afternoon speech at the Georgia World Congress Center to announce the Black Voices for Trump alliance.
The announcement of the coalition will also feature Vice President Mike Pence and Housing Secretary Ben Carson. Trump is expected in his remarks to highlight historically low unemployment rates, particularly for black workers, and the opportunity zone program Republicans folded into the 2017 tax overhaul to encourage investors to spend on minority communities.
The coalition is intended to unite and attract new African-American support for Trump’s re-election bid. According to national data, just 8 percent of black voters supported Trump in 2016 and a Pew Research Center survey last year said just 8 percent of African Americans identify with the Republican Party.
There are multiple potential candidates to lead the coalition, including Alveda King, the niece of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., Georgia businessman Bruce Levell and presidential policy adviser Ashely Bell.
Friday’s will be Trump’s second visit to Atlanta this year.
Trump may also touch on the race for Georgia’s open Senate seat, due to the impending retirement of GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson at the end of this year. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a replacement for Isakson to fill the seat until a permanent successor is elected next November.