WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s battle for the favor of black voters will be on display at Thursday’s debate in Atlanta, Georgia.
The decisive voting bloc in the vital swing state could decide the president’s re-election in November. Both campaign teams want to speak directly to black voters in their first televised debate of the election season.
Recent opinion polls show that support for Trump among black voters has increased compared to four years ago.
Harrison Fields, a surrogate for Black Americans for Trump, argues that black Americans are “waking up” after decades of empty promises from Democrats. He attributes the rise in black support for Trump to crippling inflation under the Biden administration and fresh activity from the Trump campaign.
On the eve of the debate, the organization Black Americans for Trump hosted a roundtable with black business leaders at an Atlanta hair salon. Participants included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and Republican Rep. Byron Donalds (Florida), who remains on the shortlist for Trump’s running mate.
Trump had been invited to the event by telephone but did not attend.
“The American people realize that life was better under President Trump than under Joe Biden,” Fields said. “He talks about access to capital. He talks about generational wealth. He talks about no more illegal immigrants clogging up my child’s school.”
Before the debate, House Democratic Party leader Hakeem Jeffries called Donald’s state-to-state “Black Americans for Trump” tour “11th one-hour attempt” to woo black voters.
“Donald Trump had the opportunity to improve the economic situation and well-being of the African-American community during his four years in office. He failed to do so when Republicans had complete control of the government … and he failed,” Jeffries said.
At a press conference Thursday highlighting the president’s efforts to reduce health care costs, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) reminded voters that he had fallen behind in the polls before winning his second victory in 2022.
“I believe the people of Georgia will do this right,” Warnock said. “Donald Trump is doing what he does, which is suggesting that a large number of black voters are going to vote for him. That’s not true. I stand by that. That’s not going to happen.”
Ultimately, it could be an uphill battle for both candidates to mobilize black voters. According to a recent Pew Research Institute poll, nearly half (49%) of black voters would prefer another option.
