On Thursday evening, Barack Obama was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tasked with the job of boosting black voter turnout for Kamala Harris. More specifically, Obama’s goal was to help Kamala win over black men, who are increasingly leaning toward Trump.
Obama’s messaging was, to say the least, insulting. Like Joe Biden’s “you ain’t black” moment in the 2020 campaign, Barack Obama used race and gender to shame black men for not supporting Kamala.
Sending Obama out there to boost the black male vote for Kamala was, on its face, desperate, and yet Obama’s rhetoric somehow managed to make it worse. For Obama to insinuate that black men vote based on identity, or accusing them of rejecting Harris solely due to her gender, reveals the campaign’s underlying concern. Obama’s rally speech only underscored his doubts about Harris’s ability to win, as he couldn’t credibly argue that Harris’s policies have improved black lives during her vice presidency.
Former Democratic Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner blasted Obama’s rhetoric on CNN.
“Why are black men being lectured to?” she asked. “Why are black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group?”