Credit: Tierney L.Cross For The New York Times
July 15, 2024 Story by: Editor
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll has revealed that a significant number of Black voters believe President Joe Biden is too old for the role. Despite this, the same poll indicated that Biden’s support among Black voters has actually increased following his shaky debate performance against former President Donald Trump, which had led to growing calls for Biden to step down.
Some Black Democrats are now concerned about the implications of the debate fallout on an election they deem highly critical.
“People who watched the debate actually increased their level of support for Joe Biden and decreased their level of support for Donald Trump,” Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, told The Hill. “It’s this post-debate narrative that is out of control … throwing fuel on the fire and actually creating a story that didn’t exist on debate night. Democrats need to get their people in order because it’s affecting what their actual base understands to be true.”
Shropshire noted that while viewers were not pleased with Biden’s debate performance, it did not surprise them.
“Both candidates showed up in the way that, frankly, voters have come to understand who they are,” Shropshire said. “Joe Biden seemed old. Trump seemed like a liar. None of that is news to people.”
However, some Democrats argue that Biden’s performance indicates a need for a new candidate. Representatives Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) and Lloyd Doggett (Texas) have both called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race. Privately, others have echoed this sentiment.
Although Biden remains steadfast in his decision to stay in the race, Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter, stated that the debate over who would succeed Biden is causing more trouble for the party.
“Our expectation would be that the successor would be Kamala Harris,” Albright said. “Black folks have not at all taken well to this Hunger Games-type approach to who the successor would be. If the party messes around and reads a process that skips over the obvious successor of Vice President Harris, there’s going to be consequences and repercussions in terms of Black turnout.”
Both Biden and Trump are striving to secure support from Black voters. Trump is particularly targeting Black men and aims to garner around 20 percent of their votes on Election Day.
Despite some polls suggesting increasing Black voter support for Trump, Shropshire emphasized that Trump had similar goals in previous elections, which did not materialize.
“There’s no indication from the work that we’ve been doing or polling or our focus groups that that is the case right now,” she said. “There’s something really offensive and sinister about suggesting that a group of people who have longed for fairness and equality and against racism and discrimination and white supremacy in this country would go flocking to a man and a party — a man [who] started his first campaign in 2016 on racism,” Shropshire added, referring to Trump’s promotion of the racist “Birther movement” against former President Obama.
Regarding Trump’s debate performance, Albright mentioned that it has become a topic of memes and social media discussions.
“The main takeaway that Black folks had from that debate isn’t what Biden did or did not say. It’s what Trump said about Black jobs,” Albright said. During the debate, Trump suggested that “Black jobs” were being taken by immigrants, prompting social media users to question his definition of “Black jobs.”
“I wish I had $1 for every meme and video going around of Black folks talking about, ‘Here I am in my Black job,’” Albright said. “The Trump that we saw in that debate is the same Trump who has no policies for us, who doesn’t care about us, except to think all that we’re entitled to is some low-wage jobs.”
Although only 4 percent of Black voters said Biden did “very well” at the debate, 73 percent stated they would vote for him if the election were held today, according to the New York Times/Siena poll. Additionally, 63 percent of Black voters have a favorable view of Biden, compared to only 17 percent who said the same about Trump.
“Debates are not the end all, be all,” Albright said. “They only can be or will be if the response becomes all out of proportion, and that’s essentially what we’ve seen with this debate … the response has really been hyperbolic, and no debate is worthy of this level of hyper reaction.”
This sentiment is shared by prominent Black leaders, including former President Obama and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). While they acknowledged that Biden’s debate performance—marked by long pauses, incomplete thoughts, and unclear answers—was not his best, they insist he remains the only viable choice in November.
“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama posted on X. “But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight—and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright pointed out that while a portion of the support is expected, Biden’s performance highlights the party’s broader struggle in communicating with Black voters. “You saw a lot reaffirm their support because we as a community are the most loyal and dedicated voting bloc in the history of this country,” Seawright said. “But that doesn’t mean people don’t have concerns, or this idea that there are some legit issues that we have to deal with as a party do not exist. The issues Black Americans have did not go away after that debate.”
Some argue that the administration has failed in effectively engaging with the demographic, and the debate underscored this problem. Moderators asked only one question related to Black voters, combining issues like Black unemployment, maternal mortality, and child care, to which Biden responded by highlighting his administration’s achievements for the community.
Biden noted that Black unemployment has reached historically low levels under his administration and that he has helped reduce child care costs for Black families. “There’s more to be done—considerably more to be done,” Biden said.
Shropshire mentioned that Biden was put in a challenging position, as the question itself conflated multiple issues without a clear focus. However, she added that he could have been more “forceful” in his response.
Albright remarked that although the question was a missed opportunity for Biden, it was significant how much the president managed to address in his response. “The fact that there is substance there to actually talk about, the fact that he got jumbled up because there’s a laundry list of things that he could have said to address it—that’s what’s more important to Black voters,” Albright said.
“No Black voter that I’ve talked to, or that we’ve talked to as an organization, thinks that his inability to speak clearly and eloquently in the debate is somehow an indication that the other person would be better.” Source: The Hille’ve talked to as an organization, thinks that his inability to speak clearly and eloquently in the debate is somehow an indication that the other person would be better.” Source: The Hill
