During a visit to a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Georgia, former President Donald Trump was praised by a black woman for doing “much better than” President Joe Biden on the topic of funding historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, Trump can be heard defending the work his administration did to provide funding to HBCUs.
As of 2022, there were roughly 99 HBCUs located throughout 19 states, including Washington, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Between 1976 and 2010, the number of students attending HBCUs increased by 47%, up from 223,000 to 327,000. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of students attending HBCUs decreased by 11%, down to 289,000.
“We took care of those colleges and universities,” Trump can be heard saying:
“Sure did, sure did,” the black woman can be heard saying. “Much better than Biden did.”
In Sept. 2019, while speaking at the 2019 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference, Trump highlighted his accomplishment of signing legislation that increased federal funding for HBCUs by 13%.
U.S. News reported that this number was higher than Trump had claimed, with federal funding for HBCUs having increased by more than $100 million, a 17% increase from when he was inaugurated in 2017.
In Dec. 2019, Trump signed a bipartisan bill that permanently provides more than $250 million in funding a year to HBCUs in the United States. Under the bill, $255 million in funding that had expired months prior, was renewed. Out of the bill, $85 million went towards HBCUs, $100 million went towards universities and colleges serving Hispanic minorities, and $30 million went towards tribal colleges.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, $7 billion has gone toward HBCUs, which includes $3.6 billion that has gone to HBCUs as part of the American Rescue Plan, along with COVID-19 relief, $1.6 billion in finance debt relief for more than 40 private and public HBCUs, and $1.7 billion in grants that would provide support for low-income students, according to a September 2023 press release.
“I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump. We support you,” the woman added before going over to hug Trump.
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