Addressing workers and volunteers at a campaign office Thursday before taking the stage at a Pittsburgh rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama called on Black voters, specifically men, to “drop excuses” and get behind the Democratic presidential nominee.
“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,” he said, according to The New York Times.
“Women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time,” he added. “When we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting.”
Obama’s speech arrives amid Democratic efforts to drive turnout among Black voters for November’s election. Last month, Harris held a series of events in Wisconsin, as well as other states, to engage the key voting demographic and counteract Trump’s efforts to impress them with his own approach.
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According to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll, 69% of Black voters said they are “absolutely certain to vote” in November, a statistic still lower than the 74% in June 2020.
“You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. I’ve got a problem with that,” Obama said, noting lower enthusiasm among Black voters in this election compared with his own presidential campaign.
Black voter turnout jumped from 48.1% in 1996 to 69.1% when Obama was elected in 2008, according to The Washington Post. In his bid for reelection in 2012, turnout percentages for Black voters exceeded that of white voters for the first time in history.
