In a surprising move, President Donald Trump is planning to sign an executive order to help historically Black colleges and universities across the country. 

While details on the actual plan are still sparse, Buzzfeed reports that it is being written by Omarosa Manigault, a close associate of Trump going back to her time on The Apprentice and a Howard University alumna.

Trump’s interest in supporting HBCU’s was reportedly piqued during a “listening session” held last Wednesday to discuss ways to commemorate Black History Month.

It isn’t clear exactly how the executive order could help HBCU’s, but the move is absolutely strategic. For starters, Trump is hopefully aware that there is major work to be done with winning over the Black community. Given that President Obama was often criticized for not supporting HBCU’s during his presidency, this could be a golden opportunity to do just that.

“He was shocked and upset to learn what happened under the previous administration,”said Paris Dennard, a Black political commentator the President has grown quite fond of.

Dennard is likely referring to a drop of enrollment at HBCUs in recent years connected to changes in federal loan programs that would otherwise help low income students attend collegiate institutions.

When Buzzfeed reached out to Manigault for comment on what the executive order would include, she couldn’t comment.

“I can however reinforce the president’s commitment to support historically black colleges and universities, as well as school choice as he stated throughout the campaign,” she added.

What does this executive order mean in regards to the public’s perception of Donald Trump? Does the same man who may think Frederick Douglass is still alive and threatened to throw federal agents at Chicago’s gun violence have the true interests of Black people in mind?

Or is he simply taking advantage of a softball pitch that would give him something to later call back on to discourage Black people from holding him accountable for his otherwise problematic policies down the road?

Don’t fall for the okie-doke, folks. The help would surely be appreciated, but it would likely come at a hefty price.

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