ATLANTA — Editor's note: Following this event, the owner of Rocky’s Barbershop in Buckhead contacted 11Alive, stating that he was misled into hosting it. More details are here.
One day before the first presidential debate of 2024, Black surrogates for Donald Trump gathered at Rocky’s Barbershop in Buckhead.
The small, locally owned business was packed to the brim on June 26, with reporters from across the country pointing their cameras toward eight men sitting in barber’s chairs with a sign behind them that read “Black Americans for Trump.”
The conversation was like that in a neighborhood barbershop but with a heavy dose of politics and policy. The room felt conversational as the men talked about why they are conservative and why they are supporting Donald Trump for President.
Trump surrogates, US Congressmen Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, were among the national elected officials in the room. Dr. Ben Carson, who served as the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Trump administration, sat alongside several men who live in Atlanta, including local radio Host Shelley Wynter and businessmen LaTron Rice, Eric Girault, Coach Marc KD Boyd, Daniel Ray, Mike Glover, and Rocky, the owner of the barbershop.
“I’ve never seen this many reporters in front of me, I feel like I’m in the hall of fame,” said Rocky, the barbershop’s owner, as the conversation began. “I’ve been in business since 2008. I’ve been through the struggles…the ups and downs, with COVID, but I’m just proud of being a Black man in the community and able to sustain all of the diverse people that come through this door and service everyone."
During the conversation, Donalds received a phone call from Former President Donald Trump, who took several questions from the men and spoke for about 12 minutes. Part of his pitch was his “no tax on tips” policy.
Listen to the full call in the video below:
Wynter asked Trump if he felt like he would get a fair shot from CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash on Thursday night, and Trump replied, “I think it would be good for them if they did it, I think probably not,” before talking about what he describes as CNN’s tough coverage of his primary race.
The more than one-hour conversation touched on several topics, from the economy to immigration, safety, gas prices, and race in America.
“You’ve got two presidents, you’ve got 45 and 46. Just look at it how we would look at anything, who did a better job,” said Donalds.