Former President Barack Obama, campaigning in Pennsylvania, challenged Black male voters to show the same enthusiasm for Kamala Harris’ candidacy as they once showed for his presidential run.
“I’m going to go ahead and just say, speak some truths, if you don’t mind, because my understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running,” Obama said Thursday during a stop at a Harris field office in Pittsburgh. “Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.”
Polls show that increasing numbers of Black men, particularly those under 50, are open to voting for Donald Trump. In 2020, President Joe Biden won Black male voters, 79 percent to 19 percent, according to a CNN exit poll. New polling suggests up to a quarter of Black men under 50 plan to vote for the Republican nominee.
While it may not seem like a lot, losing 4 percent of a key constituency in such a tightly contested race could spell doom for the Harris/Tim Walz ticket.
On Thursday, appearing on behalf of the Democratic nominee for just the second time, Obama did his best to win them back. But some said they felt the two-term former president unfairly scapegoated Black male voters for the struggles of the Harris campaign.
“Why are Black men being lectured to? Why are Black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group?” former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner opined on CNN.
Turner, co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign, said politicians “should be trying to get all voters to vote, and hopefully there are a few good men out there who do care about the stripping away of some of women’s bodily autonomy.’ “
But, she continued, Black men have their reasons for voting for Trump, “and even if some of us may not like that, we have to respect it.”
In his remarks, Obama said Black male voters should not mistake Trump’s bullying and belittling of women for “real strength.”
“Real strength is about working hard and carrying a heavy load without complaining,” he said. “Real strength is about taking responsibility for your actions and telling the truth even when it’s inconvenient. Real strength is about helping people who need it and standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves. That is what we should want for our daughters, for our sons!”
Reaction on social media, formerly Twitter, are mixed. Some agreed with Turner’s point that Black men shouldn’t be shamed into voting for Harris.
“I love that he thinks he’s the boss of black men,” one user quipped.
Others suggested that time had passed for the former president.
”Stand down, Uncle Barrack. It’s a new world now, ” another X user wrote. “
“Mr. Barack, please do not try to use race to tell us we aren’t being men. You were not a man during your terms, which is why I voted for you once and haven’t voted since. You politicians manipulate, shame and use us and expect us to vote or listen. When someone who cares is running lmk (let me know), someone who doesn’t need clickbait or to shame their constituents into voting,” a Black male Instagram user wrote in response to a video clip of Obama at the rally.
But others welcomed Obama’s directness with voters and his willingness to call out sexism when he sees it.
“Telling the truth even when it hurts,” one user wrote.
With less than a month to Election Day, Harris “must consolidate her base of Black voters, of young voters and women of color” if she is to win, said Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury.
She needs massive support from African-Americans, in line with 2020, when Biden received 92 percent of the Black vote, to overcome weaknesses with white voters, according to Woodbury.
But will misogyny get in the way? Obama said Black men have to stop making excuses to not vote for the sitting vice president.
“So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to speak to y’all and say that when you have a choice, that is this clear … where, on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences … and on the other side, you have someone who has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person,” Obama told supporters.
Trump weighed in on Truth Social Friday with a somewhat bizarre take on Obama’s efforts to reclaim Black male voters.
“Obama admits a total lack of enthusiasm for Kamala, especially with Black Men. I think Obama will be voting for me because he doesn’t like the fact that Kamala is an extremely Low IQ Person!” the GOP nominee posted.
