One of the most interesting issues in this election cycle is determining how Black men are going to vote.
This is not a new question, although it has never received this level of attention. This discussion has recently gone through two cycles. The first emerged this summer when Biden’s popularity began to dip in the polls and tanked after his debate performance. The second is emerging in light of the enormous popularity of Vice President Kamala Harris across demographics, as evidenced by the flurry of Zoom calls for Harris by Black men to whites Dudes for Harris and her unmatched accomplishment of raising one billion dollars from donations. These events are also occurring against the backdrop to Harris’ celebrity endorsements from Taylor Swift and Beyonce to Bruce Springsteen and everyone in between.
This discussion has been driven as much by Trump’s pronouncements about growing Black support as it is by Black male supporters of Trump, who are indeed few, scattered, and eclectic. Black MAGA consists of an odd assortment of elected officials such as Byron Donalds and Tim Scott, and athletes and rappers such as Lawrence Taylor and Herschel Walker and Ice Cube and 50 Cent. Normally when asked Black men way they support Trump three reasons are cited: economic stimulus payments, a strong economy in the Trump period and a faltering economy under Biden and support for HBCUs. Yet none of these things are true. For instance, Trump did not support stimulus payments, the Democratic Congress forced his hand. Although inflation was high, it has been tamed, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter percent and the economy’s fundamentals are strong and resilient. Trump did not support HBCUs, he just signed a pre existing funding authorization packet.
The Biden-Harris administration has given 14 billion to HBCUs. Moreover, Mackenzie Scott gave millions to HBCUs during the Biden period.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris has been in the race, its tone and tenor have changed. The mood is upbeat and joyous. Trump has faded in the polls and now after a disastrous debate performance and being painted as gloomy, the debate about the voting choices of Black men has surfaced again. With the election so close, this reemergence of concern about Black male voting loyalty seems less like an indicator that Black men will diverge from their traditional voting patterns. than an attempt to divide Black voters with the intent of weakening the Democratic base. Doing so could swing the election in Trump’s favor. This is logical given how Black voters, such as Black women were central in Biden’s victory in 2020.
Another factor supporting this idea is the gender dynamic. Middle class and working class white men and women voted in large numbers for Trump in 2016. These groups voted similarly in 2020. Trump used misinformation, disinformation and outright lies to distort Hillary’s record and portray her as dangerous and not trustworthy. His favorite mantra was “lock her up.” This constant barrage of misinformation eroded support and led to Clinton’s defeat. In 2024, direct attacks on Harris have fallen flat and her support, at least in endorsements and fundraising support, is strong in all quarters.Direct attacks on Harris similar to those used against Hillary Clinton seem less persuasive. However, attempting to divide Harris’ base of voters is a similar tactic and less obvious in its pernicious impact because it seems to arise naturally from a group that traditionally supports Democrats— Black men.
Trump is essentially projecting patriarchy, lack of trust and uncertainty about a female political leader onto the plate of erstwhile supporters, this is not to say that there is no uncertainty about Black male voters, but the contention here is that it is overly exaggerated. Trump’s framing gives the impression that if what have been her strongest and consistent supporters (Black men) are questioning Harris and may not feel included or do not trust her, then why should voters outside of this constituency vote for her.
President Obama’s recent speech to Black men seems to anticipate and deflect this Trumpian approach. His scolding of Black men was accompanied by a lengthy discussion of Trump’s failings and tendency toward misinformation and disinformation. This cautionary speech was designed to attack the Trump disinformation machine, deflate the of issue of the capability of a female leader and shore up support for Harris among Black men. So the point here is that Obama understood the need to address the perception of a lack of Black male support for Harris, even though it diverges from reality, because Trump has mastered the art of making people believe a perception whether it’s true or not. We saw this with the Pizza gate and lock her up mantras used against Hilary Clinton, which both turned out to be completely false.
This election season requires voters to think critically about their expectations of political leaders. It requires voters to think critically and carefully about the type of information that is being presented in the public sphere. This voting preferences and behavior of Black men is not the issue that the Trump misinformation machine is framing it to be. Rather, it is an attempt to divide a core Democratic constituency in order to secure a victory in an incredibly tight race. Being able to make this distinction and think more critically about the past is important in these incredibly fraught times.
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Previously Published on Historian Speaks and is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
