ATLANTA -- President Donald Trump has been showing more and more support for Karen Handel since she became the lone remaining Republican in the 6th District race.
The President’s motorcade came through just before 3 p.m. Both Handel’s team and the progressive protestors there on Friday have been more than willing to connect the candidate with President Trump. That wasn’t always the case.
Down the street from a Friday fundraiser for Karen Handel, protestors aimed to tie her to the fundraiser’s special guest: President Trump.
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“I think she goes with the money … where the money is,” protestor Pamela Winslow said.
“She’s trying to piggyback off a very unpopular president,” 6th District resident Adam Markey said.
Further down the block, President Donald Trump and Handel embraced the connection.
Handel greeted the president upon his Air Force One arrival and received public praise from Trump at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Convention.
“She’s totally for the Second Amendment, so get out and vote, ” President Donald Trump told supporters.
Photos | Donald Trump in Atlanta for the National Rifle Association conference
Before the recent election, Handel rarely mentioned Trump, instead focusing on the big-money backers of Democrat Jon Ossoff and promoting herself as a champion of her district.
Her Republican opponent Bob Gray tweeted the day before the election how Handel “refused to publicly support Trump versus Hillary Clinton.”
Now, only Handel and Ossoff remain and the Republican candidate has brought her party’s biggest name. To help raise big money in Atlanta, she’s tying herself to Trump.
“People accused Ossoff of getting money, but he didn’t have any event like this,” resident Markey said.
And for once, her opponents could not agree more.
“She’s bad for women, I know that … she’s against Planned Parenthood," Winslow said. "She’s against a lot of things I believe in."
Both sides are betting their voices will be loudest come June. The Handel campaign sent 11Alive a statement, saying she “is happy to stand with the president today. A part of being effective in Washington is being able to work productively with the executive branch.”
