President Biden Looks To Shore Up Support Among Black Voters

It’s graduation season and top-tier newsmakers are dusting off their best advice for grads including President Joe Biden who delivered the commencement address at Howard University Saturday – an opportunity for him to speak to Black voters who polls show are less supportive of the president than in recent years.

Black voters arguably lifted Biden above his opponent former President Donald Trump in 2020, and at this point, there is a reasonable possibility Biden and Trump are headed for an election encore in 2024. Both have announced their intentions to run for the White House. And although Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is wooing Iowa voters this week, polls show Trump has a comfortable lead among Republicans over DeSantis.

Another close race means Biden will need to shore up his support among Black Americans who are historically Democrats.

During his Howard address, Biden mentioned the rising tide of racism in America, reminding the audience of Trump’s characterization of the Charlottesville white supremacists as “very fine people on both sides.”

“I don’t have to tell you that fearless progress towards justice often meets ferocious pushback from the oldest and most sinister of forces,” Biden said. “That’s because hate never goes away.”

“But on the best days, enough of us have the guts and the hearts to stand up for the best in us,” he added, “to choose love over hate, unity over disunion, progress over retreat. To stand up against the poison of white supremacy.”

He pointed to white supremacy as the “most dangerous terrorist threat” to the nation, adding, “And I’m not just saying this because I’m at a Black HBCU. I say this wherever I go.”

Judicial Accomplishments

Biden’s remarks were well-received, but there were some student protestors criticizing the Biden-Harris administration’s treatment of African Americans.

According to the latest Economist/YouGov Poll, only 46% of Black adults want Biden to run for re-election. But his overall favorability ratings show 71% of Black adults said they had a favorable opinion.

Political experts cite inflation as a strike against President among Black Americans who shoulder a disproportionate burden due to economic inequities.

As the election cycle takes center stage, historians say Biden will need to tout his achievements which include appointing the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson, and he has been instrumental in confirming 11 Black women to federal appeals courts, more than all other presidents combined.

According to Bankrate, Black Americans take out the most student loan debt for a college degree, followed by white students. It underscores why the Supreme Court’s ruling on two cases that seek to halt Bident’s student loan forgiveness plan will impact his standing among Black voters. The plan would forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for over 44 million Americans.