Trump's Chick-fil-A photo-op underscores his weakness with Black voters

Donald Trump and his supporters’ attempts to curry favor with Black voters are getting more desperate by the week.

Whodathunkit? The same conservative movement that tried to attract Black youth with Drake- and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air-inspired stickers appears to be bereft of sane ideas to bring Black folks into the MAGA fold.

Instead, they've clung to stereotypes. Over the last year, we’ve seen them hype Trump-loving rappers, hawk Trump-branded sneakers, and promote Trump’s criminality in what Trump’s supporters suggested were surefire ways to make inroads with Black voters who could turn the tide of the election in his favor.

But last week’s stunt took the cake — or, perhaps, I should say, the chicken.

Trump's campaign claimed he showed up at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta and bought attendees chicken and milkshakes. His supporters spread a video far and wide of a Black woman, who appeared to be a random customer, hugging Trump and claiming the media has downplayed his Black support.

But it was later revealed that the woman is a Republican operative with ties to the Georgia Republican Party and Charlie Kirk, the founder of right-wing activist group Turning Point USA. And as the liberal outlet Meidas Touch noted, Trump’s campaign has deployed similar theatrics to give the impression other groups of voters like him, too.

If you don't already know it, the Chick-fil-A con is evidence of the opposite of the woman's claim — if anything, Trump's support among Black folks isn't nearly as high as he or his followers suggest it is. (In fact, recent polling data indicates it’s not). After all, if it were, he wouldn’t have to stage ostensibly organic events to give viewers that impression. And his followers probably wouldn’t have to create A.I.-generated images of him with fake Black people either.

We're seeing a key distinction between President Joe Biden's and Trump's campaigns. Democrats are largely trying to win Black voters with policy proposals that can benefit them — and already have.

I’d argue Trump, as the standard-bearer of today’s revanchist Republican Party, can’t do the same. He and the GOP are so laser-focused on white grievance politics that they can't even imagine what Black voters might want other than crude stereotypes and flimsy photo-ops.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com