Former President Barack Obama gave a fiery speech in support of Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he raged against Donald Trump but also excoriated black men for not backing the 2024 Democratic nominee. Pennsylvania used to be a state where Democrats didn’t need to worry—now it could be the one that decides the whole show. It’s not just the Keystone State. In Wisconsin, Democratic internal polling has Kamala down three points. The Rust Belt isn’t buying into the Democrats’ plan for 2024, mainly because Kamala is no different from Joe. She’s failed to deliver a cogent statement on how she’d be different. As of now, one could argue it’s too late to gin up something that could sway voters.
Kamala is facing deficits among core Democratic voter groups that should make liberals worried, and they are. Now, Obama is trying to drag her over the finish line, much like he failed to do with his chosen successor, Hillary Clinton. Obama has political skills, but they’re neutralized when everyone knows the candidate he’s trying to get over the hump is flawed and unqualified. Yet, he didn’t hold back from taking a swipe at black men for not backing Harris (via WaPo):
He's just constantly disappointed in everyone. You have disappointed him. https://t.co/VKswlHYzan
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 10, 2024
Obama tut tutting the “brothas” for not blindly supporting Kamala Harris while he lives in a mansion on Martha’s Vineyard is perfect. Absolutely perfect. pic.twitter.com/gMQcKzhqnL
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 11, 2024
Former president Barack Obama on Thursday made a direct, impassioned plea to Black men to support Vice President Kamala Harris — a key demographic she is struggling to mobilize — admonishing them for thinking about sitting out the presidential contest as well as suggesting sexism might be at play.
During an unannounced stop at a Harris campaign field office in Pittsburgh, just hours before he was set to appear at his first campaign rally for the Democratic nominee, Obama said he wanted to “speak some truths” and address Black men specifically, making his most direct remarks about their hesitancy in supporting Harris to date.
“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.”
[…]
“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, ticking off a list of Harris’s policy proposals. In Trump, he added, “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 spoke about what he thought might be contributing to Black men’s soft support of Harris: the discomfort of some with the idea of electing the first female president.
“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.”
Ex-MSNBC analyst Mark Halperin warned that the latest slate of private polling was atrocious for Kamala, where she’s at risk of losing virtually every swing state this cycle. Obama bashing black men seems to highlight those concerns. Also, it exposed the frustration among political elites that Kamala isn’t soaring over Trump. Voters do not owe anything to anyone based on similar ethnic or racial backgrounds. Women aren’t going to vote for a female candidate based solely on gender, and it seems that non-white voters feel the same way. Black men don’t owe the Democratic Party, Obama, and especially Kamala anything. You can tell Trump’s support among black voters this year irritates establishment Democrats to no end. It’s the moment they realized perhaps that those polls showing historic support for the former president isn’t a fluke. Trump is on pace to be the best-performing Republican among black voters since Richard Nixon in 1972.
Obama also seemed to have put the core of his Democratic National Convention speech through the shredder:
That sense of mutual respect has to be part of our message. Our politics has become so polarized these days that all of us, across the political spectrum, seem so quick to assume the worst in others unless they agree with us on every single issue. We start thinking that the only way to win is to scold and shame and out yell the other side. And after a while, regular folks just tune out, or don’t bother to vote at all.
What did you just do, Barry?
Some noted that Obama isn’t enthused by Kamala, which was evident in the initial statements in July when Biden got the boot. The former president only reluctantly supported Harris when Biden forced everyone’s hand by endorsing her first.
Last note: Obama says Trump inherited his great economy. Another lie for the 2024 cycle:
GDP growth in Obama’s last year in office was 1.6%. Trump did not inherit a good economy. This is delusional. https://t.co/2V38Ad80os
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) October 11, 2024