Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is launching its most overt effort yet to reach Black men this week, announcing a new set of policy proposals, intensified programming and a media blitz — all aimed at Black male voters — to make a play for the Republicans. Generally democratic constituencies.
“As we get to the home stretch here, she wants to make sure we're speaking directly to a constituency that has always been important to her, which is black men,” said Michael Tyler, communications director for the Harris-Walz campaign.
On Monday, the vice president presented his “Agenda of Opportunities for Black Men”. Policies include a plan to provide 1 million fully forgivable loans of up to $20,000 to Black business owners; More investment in training, mentoring and apprenticeship programs designed to help black men get jobs in high-demand industries; And the legalization of recreational marijuana, along with a concerted effort to ensure that black men have access to resources and jobs in that market.
“This agenda advances Vice President Harris’ understanding of the opportunity economy, where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: buy a home, provide for our families, start a business, and build wealth,” said the campaign co-chair. Harris-Walz, Cedric. Richmond Dr.
Black men have historically voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates, with turnout generally lagging behind Black women, but consistently so. In this cycle, polls show a historic gender disparity, with Trump outperforming men of all races. Republicans are trying to capitalize on this development, raising concerns among Democrats about a possible — albeit marginal — shift in attitudes among black voters.
Even the relatively small drop in black male support for Harris could be significant, given the razor-thin margins in swing states.
An estimated 90% of Black men voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, but a New York Times/Siena College poll report 78% now plan to vote for Harris, with 15% supporting former President Donald Trump.
and more recently the Howard University Poll of Black Voters Swing states showed that 82% of voters said they would vote for Harris, 12% said they would vote for Trump, and another 5% were undecided. According to that poll, Trump's gains were most prominent among black men under 50, more than 20% of whom said they planned to support the former president in November.
Concerns about these voting trends were voiced by former President Barack Obama, who, during an event in Pittsburgh last week, called on Harris for strong support among black men.
“On the other hand, you have someone who has consistently shown disrespect, not just for the community, but for you as an individual. And you're thinking about staying out and coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,” Obama said. “I have a problem with that because, part of it makes me think — I'm speaking directly to men — part of it makes me think, well, you just don't feel like the idea of having a woman is president, and do you have other options to this and brings other reasons.”
Several prominent black Republicans attacked Obama's comments about what they say are Democrats' feelings toward black voters, criticizing the former president for castigating black men as promiscuous without addressing his legitimate criticisms of the Democratic Party.
“He's proving our point,” said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.. was posted on X in response to Obama. “Yes, black voters are abandoning the Democratic Party, but not for the reasons he gives. They’ve had enough.”
The Trump campaign's advisory board, “Black Men for Trump,” launched by the campaign in September to help with messaging and programming, condemned Obama's comments as “insulting.”
“Black Americans are not monolithic and we cannot vote for a candidate because they 'look like us.' To suggest that we cannot evaluate a candidate’s record is an insult,” the board wrote.
Trump himself interpreted Obama's comments as an acknowledgment of his progress with the voting bloc, Post on this Social Media Platform, “Obama Admits Total Lack of Enthusiasm for Orange, Especially Black Men.”
Asked about Obama's comments during an interview with online news site The Shade Room, Harris reiterated her plan to “win the vote” for black men and noted that Obama cited the “danger” of re-electing Trump in her response.
A senior Harris campaign official told NBC News that they were “very, very supportive” of Obama's comments, feeling they started an important conversation about black men's voting choices.
“He opened up a permission framework for internal conversations, so that people can appeal to a certain dynamic, to a certain segment of the electorate,” said the campaign manager. “I think talking is helpful. The more black men see themselves at the center of the political conversation and the power they have in these elections, the better.”
The Trump campaign also sees the benefit of having black men at the center of the speech, confident that a broader message of prosperity and nostalgia for the pre-pandemic economy will be conveyed under a Trump presidency. High-profile endorsements From people like rapper Lil Wayne to helping the former president.
“Black men prioritize being the main breadwinner and care about real wages and stable employment. Ultimately, President Trump's economic policies provide more opportunities for generational and lasting wealth creation for Black families, and voters of all ethnicities know this,” said Janiyah Thomas, Black media director for the Trump campaign. , in a statement.
Trump's campaign held fewer black-centric events and invested less in advertising aimed at this demographic, but the former president participated in a roundtable with black business leaders in Atlanta before a rally in August. Two of his black colleagues, Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, also signed on to a “Congress, Brandy and Cigars” event in Atlanta, an event designed specifically to increase support for Trump among Democratic-leaning black men.
And in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month, Scott hosted the first in a series of “Black Empowerment” financial literacy events that the campaign plans to hold across the swing state.
Harris' focus on increasing wealth as part of her outreach to black men is the result of a months-long effort to counter the economic focus of Trump's messaging.
In April, he launched a national economic opportunity tour, appealing to the record pace of Black business ownership and record low Black unemployment that the Biden-Harris administration has overseen since taking office. It's a winning strategy, according to Leo Smith, a political strategist who has conducted several focus groups of black men in Georgia.
“The vice president is actually doing a good job right now, which is kind of a backlash against the Democratic Party. In fact, he is calling for an economic agenda for home ownership. He is demanding an economic agenda for business ownership. He’s doing something that black men really loved about Donald Trump when it comes to economic policy,” Smith said.
That shift has already helped him win over black groups that were sometimes suspicious of Democratic candidates.
Last month, a super PAC representing more than 50,000 black men, the Justice, Equality and Economy PAC, supported Harris' campaign two years after endorsing Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, over his Democratic opponent, Stacey. Abrams.
Omar Ali, founder of the PAC, said the endorsement came after conversations with several members of Harris' team, campaign representatives and executive branch officials, including Dilwar Syed, deputy director of the Small Business Administration, and senior Muslim officials. In administration
“We presented our ideas to change some things in policy to help small businesses and African-American businesses. That they were willing to listen to us, they were willing to agree that some things needed to change was enough for us to feel comfortable supporting the fact that the other side would not meet with us,” Ali said.
Ali tried to schedule a similar conversation with the Trump campaign, but was rebuffed after several conversations with lower-level staffers at the campaign's Georgia office, saying it was “difficult” to contact any member of the national campaign apparatus.
Ultimately, Ali was offered the opportunity to meet Trump at one of his rallies – for a photo opportunity – an offer he called “highly disrespectful.”
The Trump campaign declined to comment on Ali's comments.
The disclosure of Harris' pressure on black men comes amid a media campaign by Harris, who this month gave several interviews with the aim of reaching black audiences.
On Sunday, after a meeting with 50 black religious leaders and an appearance at a predominantly black church in Greenville, North Carolina, Harris participated in an interview with Roland Martin. That night, he recorded an interview with Justin Carter of The Shade Room.
On Tuesday, Harris will participate in a radio sit-down with popular radio host Charlemagne Tha God. Earlier this month, he appeared on the “All the Smoke” podcast, hosted by former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.
Harris' campaign plans to expand its programming designed specifically to engage black men. This week, it will partner with Black celebrities, influencers and activists at “Black Men Huddle Up” events in swing states, NFL and NCAA watch parties that will serve as opportunities for Black men to discuss their participation in elections. . The campaign's Black Voter Engagement team will continue hosting barbershop roundtables, campaign drives and a discussion at the Black Men's Forum in Milwaukee this week.
Harris will have support from high-profile Black artists and athletes, including musicians Jermaine Dupri and John Legend, who have headlined campaign events in Atlanta in recent weeks, and NBA legend Magic Johnson, who co-chairs the campaign's athletes. Harris Alliance Group.
“Our black people, we have to make them vote. That's number one. Orange's opponent made a lot of promises to the black community last time and didn't deliver, and we need to make sure we help black men understand that,” Johnson said this month at a Harris rally in Flint, Michigan.
