A number of black men have responded negatively to former President Barack Obama after he admonished them over a growing lack of support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Hours before his first campaign rally for the Democratic nominee last week, Obama made an unplanned visit to a Harris campaign field office in Pittsburgh. There, he stated his intention to “speak some truths” and specifically address Black men, delivering his most direct comments yet regarding their reluctance to support Harris to date, the Washington Post reported.
“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, adding that it “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.”
Obama questioned why voters, especially black men, remain undecided about supporting Harris or the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, the Post noted further.
“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,” Obama said, recounting a list of Harris’s flip-flop policy proposals. In Trump, he falsely claimed, “you have someone who has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person …And you are thinking about sitting out?”
The former president then discussed what he believed was causing black men’s lukewarm support for Harris, suggesting that some were uncomfortable with the idea of electing the first female president, the Post noted.
“And you’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. I’ve got a problem with that,” he said. “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.
Support for Democratic candidates among black male voters has been declining since Barack Obama’s presidency. In 2008, Obama received backing from 95% of black male voters, which decreased to 87% in the 2012 election. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton garnered support from 82% of black male voters in 2016, according to The Hill. In the 2020 election, President Joe Biden secured 80% of the black male vote.
Former Ohio Democratic state Senator Nina Turner criticized Obama’s comments during an appearance on CNN on Thursday night.
“Why are black men being lectured to? Why are black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group are?” Turner said. “Now, a lot of love for former President Obama, but for him to single out black men is wrong, and some of the black men that I have talked to have their reasons why they want to vote a different way, and even if some of us may not like that, we have to respect it.
Turner added that as a politician, the message should be for all voters and encourage all eligible Americans to vote, instead of focusing on race or gender.
Actor Wendell Pierce condemned the speech in a post on X late Thursday, stating that it conveyed an “awful message” and that the Democratic Party should refrain from “scapegoating” black men.
“Black men aren’t the problem. White men and white women are,” Pierce wrote. “Black men voting for Trump is insignificant. This accusatorial tone will make some black men stay home-which is worse. Black men are questioning our party to find out what their loyalty for decades earns them. That’s good. That’s healthy. Democrats have the record to stand on and should embrace the challenge.
