Biden courts black voters in battleground state with two big speeches

Atlanta and Detroit — President Biden began his speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s “Fight for Freedom Fund” dinner in Detroit on Sunday by declaring himself a “life member” of the NAACP.

Earlier in the day, several states further south, in Atlanta, Mr. Biden began his Sunday morning commencement address at Morehouse College — a historically black men’s liberal arts college — with scripture.

“The Scriptures say that the prayers of a righteous man are of great avail,” the president said in Atlanta, while recounting the story of the Rev. Richard C. Coulter, a former Atlanta slave who helped to the creation of Morehouse College.

“You all know the story, but the rest of the world doesn’t, and that should be the case,” he added.

The weekend’s stint in Georgia and Michigan, where Mr. Biden made direct overtures to large crowds of black voters, came as the campaign seeks to revitalize its support among black voters in the face of polls late and less than six months before the election. election.

The Biden campaign says it has invested more than $1 million this month in targeted ad buys at Black-owned media outlets and has prioritized interviews on Black radio. But even though the president still records overwhelming support from black voters in polls, his support in this crucial voting bloc has softened slightly.

In a walk CBS News Poll in Georgia, 82% of black voters said they would vote for Mr. Biden, compared to 88% in a 2020 exit poll. In an April CBS News poll in Michigan, Mr. Biden garnered the support of 77% of black voters, with other third-party options on the ballot.

Biden touts black voter record and taunts Trump in Detroit

Throughout his closing events in Detroit — a campaign stop at a Black-owned business and the speech at the NAACP dinner — Mr. Biden made sure to present his record to Black voters.

He discussed the $16 billion his administration has invested in historically black colleges and universities, the low black unemployment rate, his efforts to reduce prescription drug prices and actions to alleviate student debt.

“I canceled an awful lot of debt from people who had college debt — and billions of dollars — so people could start their lives again,” he said Sunday afternoon at Detroit’s CRED Café.

“The guy we’re running against wants to salvage all the prospects, all the progress that we’ve made,” he added, referring to Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and former president.

Sonya Ellis, a 69-year-old teacher from Detroit who saw Mr. Biden speak at the NAACP dinner, said she got her student loans forgiven because of his policies. But she said she was “very nervous” that Trump could win in November and believed Mr Biden could be stronger on foreign policy.

“I think Trump voters are going to vote. I know Democratic people who say they won’t vote,” she said.

Throughout the weekend, Mr. Biden thanked black voters for helping him win in 2020 and said they would be the reason Trump “is going to be a loser again.”

During his NAACP speech, Biden looked at the contrasts that set him apart from Trump for black voters. After touting the nomination of Kentaji Brown Jackson as the first black woman to the United States Supreme Court, Mr. Biden asked the more than 4,600 attendees of the NAACP dinner if Trump won a second term: “Who think do you think he will put at the head of the Supreme Court? Supreme Court ? Do you think he will detain anyone with a brain? »

Later, while pointing out that Trump had said he would pardon the convicted rioters on January 6, Mr. Biden asked the crowd to consider a hypothetical.

“What do you think he would have done on January 6 if black Americans had stormed the Capitol?” Biden said, with many groans of agreement.

Robert Oscar Williams, a 49-year-old black voter who saw Mr. Biden’s remarks in Detroit, said that while the president made his administration’s record clear, he would have liked to know more about plans for a second term. .

“More people want to hear tangible things. They want to know, ‘What am I going to get for my vote?’ Not just a good speech,” Oscar Williams said.

“The black vote cemented his victory last time. It would be unintelligent not to talk about this vote,” he added.

At Morehouse, Biden says his heart is ‘broken’ over Gaza

During his commencement speech at Morehouse College, Mr. Biden often spoke about themes of struggle, faith and democracy.

He linked restrictive voting laws and attacks on election workers to “what happens to you and your family when old ghosts in new clothes take over.” He repeatedly questioned whether American democracy “really worked” for black citizens.

“What is democracy, if a series of broken promises always leaves black communities behind?” » asked Mr. Biden.

Later in his speech, he returned to this issue to talk about Gaza.

“I also know that some of you are asking, ‘What is democracy if we can’t stop the wars that break out and break our hearts?'” Mr. Biden observed. He went on to say what “is happening in Gaza and Israel“It’s heartbreaking,” calling it “one of the most difficult and complicated problems in the world,” and calling for a two-state solution and an immediate ceasefire – sparking protests notable applause.

The Israeli military operation in Gaza, which the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says has left more than 34,000 dead, has energized many scholars. “camps” and demonstrations, as well as interruptions during opening events. Although there was a protest outside the Morehouse campus, there were no major interruptions during Mr. Biden’s speech.

Instead, protesters took calmer approaches: Some students turned their chairs the other way, with their backs to the president, while others adorned Palestinian flags or scarves on their graduation gowns. . And throughout Mr. Biden’s speech, professors on stage waved a Democratic Republic of Congo flag to express their displeasure with the administration’s response to that country’s civil war.

Yolanda Hutchins, a 55-year-old Democratic voter in Atlanta, said Mr. Biden is “annoying a lot of people right now with what’s going on with the genocide in Palestine.”

“It’s something I hear about daily. I hear about it on social media. I talk about it and discuss it with family and friends,” she said.

Pro-Palestinian protesters were also present outside the NAACP dinner in Detroit. Bill Osborne, a 64-year-old Democratic resident of Detroit, said he thinks Gaza resonates most with Arab Americans and young black voters who “denounce the injustice they believe Israel is inflicting on Gaza.” .

“But if you look at the protesters outside, you’ll see there weren’t a lot of black protesters. I wouldn’t say it’s a make-or-break issue for black voters; I think it’s more the alienation they may feel.” he said.