'Lose Black Votes Means Defeat'... Biden Courts Black Voters Who Turned Away

Commencement Speech at Prestigious Black College Morehouse College
Expanding Contact with Black Voters... Critical to Securing Core Supporters

U.S. President Joe Biden has taken steps to secure the support of the Democratic Party's traditional base of Black voters as their approval ratings show signs of instability. With inflation and the Middle East war causing young people and people of color to drift away from his support base, he is focusing on winning over Black voters.

On the 19th (local time), President Biden delivered a commencement speech at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Morehouse College is one of the prestigious historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and is also the alma mater of Martin Luther King Jr., a pioneer of the American Black civil rights movement.

Amid the nationwide spread of anti-war protests by college students, President Biden emphasized the need for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, along with resolving the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during his speech.

President Biden mentioned the "innocent Palestinians" and said, "My heart aches for what is happening in Gaza and Israel." He added, "We are working tirelessly to provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza and to build a durable peace in the region," emphasizing, "This is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That is why I called for an immediate ceasefire."

He also appealed emotionally by referring to George Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 due to excessive force by a white police officer.

He said, "You started your college life the year George Floyd was killed," and questioned, "A Black youth lost his life on the streets. It is natural to question what democracy really is. What is democracy?"

President Biden further stressed, "Black history is American history," and said, "I proudly appointed the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, served as vice president under the first Black president, and currently have the first woman of color as my vice president."

Recently, President Biden has increased his engagement with Black voters. On the 17th, he visited the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C., and on the 18th, he visited Georgia, where Black voters make up 33% of the population. Georgia was a key state in the 2020 presidential election where Biden narrowly defeated former President Donald Trump by less than one percentage point, largely due to overwhelming support from Black voters. Later that afternoon, he planned to visit Michigan, another battleground state, to meet with Black small business owners.

President Biden's efforts to win over Black voters come amid troubling signs of erosion in his support base. According to recent polls by Bloomberg News and Morning Consult, Biden's approval rating among Black voters in battleground states stands at 63%. Compared to the 92% of Black voters who overwhelmingly supported Biden in the 2020 presidential election, this indicates a clear shift in the traditional support base.

On the other hand, former President Trump's support among Black voters is the highest ever recorded for a Republican candidate. According to a New York Times (NYT) poll conducted last month among voters in battleground states, Trump received over 20% support from Black voters, the highest among Republican candidates historically.

Bloomberg News reported, "Especially Black men are gradually showing signs of drifting away from the Democratic Party," adding, "This raises questions about President Biden's prospects for re-election following his narrow victory over former President Trump in 2020."