Obama’s campaign ad targeting black men is causing a stir. Why it matters.

• Obama admonished some black men for looking for “excuses” not to support a female presidential candidate.
• Some contradicted the message, arguing that black male voters were not Harris’ biggest challenge.
• But any critical decline in black support could prove costly for Democrats in November.

Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris this week. This is part of a concerted effort to drum up support for the Democratic presidential nominee less than a month before the election.

Obama has long been known for his outstanding speeches, which won him the White House in 2008. This year, Obama’s diverse electoral coalition was led by overwhelming support from black and young voters, two groups that Harris must win over in November.

But Obama’s comments Thursday in Pittsburgh sparked a major debate about black voters and their loyalty to the Democratic Party, as well as former President Donald Trump’s push to make inroads with the key group.

“They come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,” Obama said of black male voters. “I have a problem with that.”

He continued: “Part of this makes me think that you just don’t feel comfortable having a woman as president and that you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for it.”

As Harris works to build her own electoral coalition in what is expected to be a close race, every vote will count. That’s why Obama’s comments about Harris’ presidential candidacy are so significant.

The gender gap is expected to be large

In virtually every national poll, Harris has a significant lead with female voters, buoyed by her strength on issues like reproductive rights and health care. Harris has recently chipped away at Trump’s longstanding advantage on economic issues that could be crucial in battleground states like Arizona and North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to perform well among male voters, particularly among white men who did not attend college.

In the most recent New York Times/Siena College national poll, Harris led Trump 49% to 46% among likely voters. While Harris had a 16-point lead among women, Trump had an 11-point lead among men.

Obama’s comments reflected concerns among many Democrats that black men – particularly young black men – are drawn to Trump and could cost Harris the election.

However, some Democrats have criticized the former president over his comments, arguing that his admonishment of black men, which turns off Harris’s gender, was misplaced.

“Why are black men lectured? Why are black men belittled in a way that no other group is.” [is]?” former Ohio state senator and former Democratic congressional candidate Nina Turner told CNN on Thursday.

“Well, I love former President Obama very much, but him singling out black men is wrong,” she continued. “Some of the black men I’ve spoken to have their reasons for wanting to vote differently, and while some of us may not like that, we have to respect it.”

Black voters’ loyalty will be tested this year

Turner and some other Democrats have noted that black men remain among the party’s most reliable supporters.

In the 2016 presidential election, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won 94% of black female voters, compared to 82% of black men, exit polls show. The results reflected black voters’ longstanding loyalty to Democrats.

This year, Trump won 4% of the black female vote while he received 13% of the black male vote. (Latino voters strongly supported Clinton, but both white men and white women supported Trump overall.)

According to the Pew Research Center, current President Joe Biden won 92% of Black voters in 2020, compared to 8% for Trump.

But Obama and other Democrats hope they can surpass Trump’s potential to win over more black voters – and especially black men – this time.

The recently released New York Times/Siena College poll found that 78% of likely black voters supported Harris, while Trump received 15% support among likely black voters. Such an outcome – if confirmed in November – could give Trump a boost in swing states like Georgia and Pennsylvania.

In the Times/Siena poll, black men supported Harris 70% to 20%, still a sizable advantage for the vice president but indicating an erosion of that group relative to the GOP. However, black women remained strongly in Harris’ corner, supporting her by a margin of 83% to 12%.

While Obama’s pitch may have angered some people, Democrats know they need strong Black support to win in November.

And the Times/Siena poll showed what work lies ahead for Harris as she campaigns to succeed Biden in the White House.