Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday at a National Association of Black Journalists event in Philadelphia that it’s important not to operate from the assumption that “Black men are in somebody’s pocket.”
Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, speaking to a panel of three reporters, was asked about young black male voters, who may feel left out by the current economy and support his opponent, former President Donald Trump.
The Democratic party is experiencing a drop in support among young black people, with a quarter of them leaning toward Trump, according to a poll released Friday by the NAACP. The overall result showed a 63% favorability for Harris over Trump’s 13% among black voters. However, the gender gap is notable. While support for Harris among black women remains strong at 67%, it falls to 49% among black men under 50.
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Harris said Tuesday that, “Black men are like any other voting group. You have to earn their vote. I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I got it because I’m Black, but because policies. and perspectives that I understand what we must do to recognize the needs for all communities.”
She continued: “We’ve come in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. We’ve come in the worst public health epidemic in centuries. We’ve come in after the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. Much due in large part to the mismanagement of the former president,” Harris said. “We had a lot of work to do to clean up a mess.”
Harris said she and President Joe Biden have created more than 16 million new jobs, including more than 800,000 manufacturing jobs. The country is also facing its lowest unemployment rate for black workers “in generations,” Harris said.
The administration also capped the price of insulin and prescription medications for seniors, “which is important for Blacks who are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes,” he said. She also promoted her work with President Joe Biden to remove medical debt from credit scores.
“Do we have more work to do? Yes,” Harris said. “I believe that he offers a new generation of leadership for our country that is particularly concerned with turning a page in an era that unfortunately showed us the attempts of some to understand fear and to create divisions in our country.”
She discussed her “opportunity economy” plan, including the need for additional housing to “deal with it head on” by hiring and engaging the private sector to encourage the construction of new homes.
“I believe there are many opportunities available to the American people if we look at people and understand what they want for themselves and their families and just meet them where they are,” Harris said.
Harris announced a plan where no working family would have to pay more than 7% of their income for child care. She said it is currently “too expensive” for the “sandwich generation”, who have to pay for childcare and also care for their parents. The Democratic candidate also called for additional support for home health care and child care providers.
“It’s an unfortunate state of affairs in our country that workers often have to decide whether they can work or pay for child care,” Harris said. “It’s not really level in terms of spending versus income.”
What the polls say
A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll found Harris boasted strong support from black male voters. According to a Reuters poll last week, 26% of black men under 50 said they supported Trump.
The survey, conducted in early August before the Democratic convention and the recent presidential debate, indicates the potential of undecided voters to shift toward Harris in the end.
On Monday, Harris faced a poll from the NAACP suggesting she could face some challenges.
The NAACP poll, conducted in partnership with Hart Research and HIT Strategies, polled black voters in 12 priority states. While 79% of black women over 50 said they would vote for her, only 66% of men in the same age group felt the same.
Among the youngest Black voters, ages 18 to 49, Harris’ support drops even further, with only 56% supporting his candidacy.
Undecided voters could also be a challenge. While 59% of respondents overall reported a more favorable view of Harris over the past month, only 14% of undecided voters shared that view, with 25% of undecided voters saying the his opinion of her was aggravated.
Earlier this month, however, another poll revealed that Harris is winning the support of an overwhelming number of Black voters.
A Suffolk University poll, which polled 1,000 likely voters from Aug. 25-28, showed Harris leading Trump by 64 points among black voters (76% to 12%). It found that Harris led Trump among all voters by just over 4 points (47.6% to 43.3%).
Trump’s appearance with the NABJ
Harris did not attend NABJ’s annual convention in July due to scheduling issues that prevented him from being there in person. However, Trump attended and made big headlines.
The appearance had several heated exchanges between Trump and the moderators. The Republican candidate questioned why Harris “turned Black” while answering a question about whether he believed he was only on the Democratic ticket because of his race.
Trump also claimed that “millions and millions of people” are coming from the border and “taking black jobs.”
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