Former President Barack Obama recently called out Black men who are hesitant to support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Speaking to supporters at a Harris campaign office in Pittsburgh, Obama addressed the reluctance of some Black male voters, hinting that gender may be a factor in their lack of support for Harris, the potential first Black woman president.
Polling data shows that former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has made slight progress with Black male voters, particularly younger ones. This development is causing concern among Democrats, especially as they fear a potential decline in Black voter turnout next month. The possibility of electing the first Black woman president adds to the significance of this election. Obama expressed disappointment over the seeming hesitation from some voters, particularly Black men, to rally behind Harris.
“I’m going to go ahead and just say, speak some truths, if you don’t mind,” Obama said. “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 pointed out that this hesitancy seems especially apparent among Black men. As the first Black president, Obama addressed this reluctance head-on, saying that Black men are “coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,” and that he has “a problem with that.”
Black Men and Gender in Politics
The former president noted that the issue may stem from discomfort with the idea of having a woman as president. “Because part of it makes me think – and I’m speaking to men directly – part of it makes me think that, well, 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,” Obama said.
Polling from USA TODAY/Suffolk University in Pennsylvania reveals that while 78% of Black women planned to vote for Harris, only 63% of Black men indicated the same. The poll also found that 15% of likely Black male voters were backing Trump, a stark contrast to only 7% of Black women supporting him. More recent data from Pew Research Center shows Harris leading nationally among Black voters, but her margin over Trump is narrower than it was in 2020 when President Joe Biden saw a 92%-8% advantage among Black voters.
Interestingly, the Pew poll also noted that Black men were more likely than Black women to express confidence in Trump’s ability to manage the economy, with 38% of Black men showing confidence compared to 24% of Black women.
