Donald Trump faced criticism for remarking that he was tempted to leave his wife for a Republican activist at a rally in Georgia. Trump brought Michaelah Montgomery on stage toward the end of the rally and said she had previously kissed him, prompting him to consider “never going back home to the First Lady.” Montgomery joked with the former President that he was supposed to keep that quiet. Mr. Trump then commented that for most politicians, the remarks would mean “death,” but he doesn’t care.
The former President first encountered Montgomery in April when he visited a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. Trump told the story at the recent rally and said Ms. Montgomery had told him he had saved her college. Montgomery graduated from Clark Atlanta University, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) – a group of institutions that Trump claims were underfunded until he came to office.
When the college graduate took to the stage at the Trump rally, she began her remarks by attacking Vice President Kamala Harris and accusing her of exploiting her black identity for political gain. “She’s only Black when it’s time to get elected,” Montgomery said. She added that Harris had chosen a side that “wasn’t us.”
The comments reflect those of Donald Trump at a National Association of Black Journalists event in Chicago, where he said he did not know Kamala Harris was black because she had always identified as Indian. “Is she Indian, or is she black?” Trump asked, prompting a fierce backlash from both sides of the political aisle in Washington, DC.
Several GOP lawmakers reportedly expressed alarm at Trump’s remarks on Harris’s race, with one stating that colleagues were “uncomfortable, but they don’t want to say anything.” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at a Washington press conference that an unnamed Republican Senator told him, “I guess now you guys are going to win the election.”
One of the few Republicans to speak publicly on the issue was Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who said Trump’s comments were “beyond unfortunate” and would likely damage the Republicans at the ballot box in November.
