Christian Smith
- The Black voter base was a critical component in Biden’s 2020 victory
- Recent polls show Trump gaining some of Biden’s support among the base
- Biden will campaign in two battleground states to reach the black base
FILE – President Joe Biden addresses UAW members during a campaign stop, Feb. 1, 2024, in Warren, Michigan. Former President Donald Trump is urging Republicans in Michigan to reach out to black voters in Detroit and other predominantly African-American areas in the swing state, state GOP leaders said Monday, March 25. Both Biden and Trump will be closely contesting Michigan, a state that flipped Democratic in 2020 and is widely seen as critical to both candidates’ chances in November. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Archive)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is working to bolster his support among Black voters, putting a renewed focus on the community that helped propel him to the White House in 2020.
Through a series of engagements, the president has sought to “honor the legacy of those who paved the way for progress and the hard-won rights of Black Americans,” a White House spokesperson told NewsNation, adding that he will “highlight his vision for how we should continue to develop these freedoms.”
Among these events, Biden celebrated the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Wade. Board of Education – the landmark Supreme Court case that ended racial segregation in public schools – meeting with plaintiffs and their families at the White House on Thursday. He will also deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College, one of the most well-known historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), on Sunday.
The White House also announced an unprecedented $16 billion investment for HBCUs.
This all comes at a crucial time for Biden’s re-election efforts, as support is waning among black voters. In 2020, Biden won the Black vote by a 92-8 margin. However, according to a New York Times/Siena College survey of the swing states released this week, Trump would win more than 20% of black voters in a hypothetical rematch against Biden.
In a new memo shared with NewsNation, the Biden-Harris campaign highlighted outreach to Black voters from their perspective.
“From day one, the Biden-Harris campaign has been authentic and consistent in our efforts to reach Black voters and ensure they are aware that no other administration in modern history has served Black America like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have.” , said Trey Baker, senior adviser at Biden-Harris 2024.
The memo stated that the events of the next few days were a “continuation” of the work to meet black voters “where they are.”
On Friday, Biden gave speeches at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, followed by an Oval Office meeting with leaders of the Divine Nine, historically black sororities and fraternities.
“My predecessor and his MAGA extremist friends are now seeking diversity, equity and inclusion across America,” Biden said, using the speech to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump. “They want a country for some, not for all.”
The president will travel to two swing states on Sunday — Georgia and Michigan — with a focus on engaging with Black voters. First, he will deliver the commencement address at Morehouse in Atlanta, and then he will travel to Detroit to speak at an NAACP Fight for Freedom dinner and visit a black-owned small business.
The campaign claims that Black-owned small businesses have been “critical to the Biden-Harris organizing strategy.”
The Biden-Harris campaign noted that it does not take “a single voter for granted.”
“We are not and will not parachute into these communities at the last minute, hoping for your vote,” Baker said in his memo. “Every day from now until Election Day, we will continue to work diligently to ensure that in November, Black voters send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris back to the White House to continue helping Black America in unprecedented ways.”
