Obama faces backlash after targeting black male voters for not showing more support for Harris

Former President Barack Obama experienced backlash on Thursday night for targeting black male voters during a stump speech in Pittsburgh, where he chastised the voting bloc for not showing more support for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The former president claimed that black male voters were not showing the same support for Harris as they did for him when he was running for election, even though the vice president is also part of the black community. 

Support for Democratic candidates have been waning since Obama, where 95% of black male voters supported him in 2008. The support dwindled to 87% for Obama in 2012, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saw support from 82% of black male voters in 2016, according to The Hill. President Joe Biden received 80% of the black male vote in 2020.

The lack of support appears "to be more pronounced with the brothers," Obama said. “You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses; I’ve got a problem with that. 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.”

Former Ohio Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner slammed the comments in an appearance on CNN on Thursday night.

“Why are black men being lectured to? Why are black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group are?” Turner said. "Now, a lot of love for former President Obama, but for him to single out Black men is wrong, and some of the Black men that I have talked to have their reasons why they want to vote a different way, and even if some of us may not like that, we have to respect it.”

Turner added that as a politician, the message should be for all voters and encouraging all eligible Americans to vote, instead of focusing on race or gender.

Actor Wendell Pierce also slammed the speech in a post on X late Thursday, claiming that it sent an "awful message" and that the Democratic Party should not be "scapegoating" black men.

"Black men aren’t the problem. White men and White women are," Piece wrote. "Black men voting for Trump is insignificant. This accusatorial tone will make some Black men stay home-which is worse. Black men are questioning our party to find out what their loyalty for decades earns them. That’s good. That’s healthy. Democrats have the record to stand on and should embrace the challenge. 

"After touring this country specifically engaging Black men, I will not let my party leaders speak condescending towards them," he added.

Obama's speech comes after a survey from the NAACP and HIT Strategies last month found that a quarter of black male respondents under 50 said they would vote for former President Donald Trump in November instead of Harris, per Reuters.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage