WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump’s battle to win over Black voters will be on display at Thursday’s debate in Atlanta, Georgia.
The key voter block, in the key swing state could make or break the president’s reelection bid come November. Both campaigns say they will speak directly to Black voters during their first televised debate of the election season.
Recent polling shows support for Trump among Black voters is up compared to four years ago.
Harrison Fields, a surrogate with Black Americans for Trump, argues Black Americans are “waking up” after decades of empty promises from Democrats. He attributes a rise in Black support for Trump to crippling inflation under the Biden administration and new outreach from the Trump campaign.
On the eve of the debate, Black Americans for Trump, hosted a Black business leaders roundtable at an Atlanta barbershop. The panel included former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) who remains on a shortlist for Trump’s VP.
Trump called into the event but did not attend.
“The American people do realize that life was better under President Trump than Joe Biden,” Fields said. “He’s talking about access to capital. He’s talking about generational wealth. He’s talking about no more illegal immigrants clogging my child’s school.”
Before the debate, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Donald’s state by state Black Americans for Trump tour an “11th hour attempt” to court Black voters.
“Donald Trump had four years in office to make a difference with respect to the economic fortunes and wellbeing of the African American community and failed to do it when Republicans had complete control of government…and he failed,” Jeffries said.
At a Thursday press conference highlighting the president’s efforts to lower health care costs, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) reminded voters he was down in the polls before he pulled off his second victory in 2022.
“I believe that the people of Georgia are going to get this right,” Warnock said. “Donald Trump typically doing what he does, suggesting large numbers of Black voters are going to vote for him. Not true. I’ll stand on that. It’s not going to happen.”
Ultimately, energizing Black voters could be an uphill battle for both candidates. A recent Pew Research survey finds that nearly half (49%) of Black voters would prefer a different option.
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