Former President Barack Obama urged Black men to step up their support for Vice President Kamala Harris—a demographic where polls show former President Donald Trump has made some inroads—while addressing a Democratic campaign event in Pittsburgh on Thursday, where he described the GOP candidate as someone who has “shown disregard” for Black communities.
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running ... [+]
Obama said reports from “campaigns and communities” showed there had not been the “same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities” compared to the support he received in 2008.
The former president said he wanted to “speak some truths” and pointed to Black male voters saying the enthusiasm and turnout issue “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.”
Obama said he has a problem with “all kinds of reasons and excuses” he’s hearing from Black men and added: “It makes me think…that you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
The former president said, “women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time…when we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting.”
Obama tried to draw a contrast between the two candidates, saying Harris was “somebody who grew up like you” while Trump was someone who “has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person.”
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Addressing those who are planning to vote for Trump or sit out the election, Obama said: “You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable.”
In an AP-NORC poll released earlier this week, Black voters appeared to overwhelmingly back Harris over Trump. Among registered Black voters, 65% think Harris would make a good president compared to just 15% for Trump. But Trump’s number rises slightly to 21% when accounting for only Black male voters, while Harris’ number mostly remains the same. A poll conducted by the NAACP in August showed that 63% of Black voters plan to vote for Harris compared to 13% for Trump. However, among Black men under 50 years old, 26% say they support Trump compared to 49% for Harris.
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