PITTSBURGH – Former President Barack Obama said Thursday that black men oppose Vice President Kamala Harris simply because she is a woman, while the Democratic candidate said his campaign and He blamed it for not producing the same kind of energy.
“I still haven’t seen the same kind of energy and turnout that I saw when I was running in every corner of my neighborhood and community.” Obama, 63, said: At a “Black Voters Support Harris” event in Pittsburgh ahead of a rally for Harris.
“I would also say that it seems to be more pronounced in the case of brothers,” he added, referring to black men.
“[Y]They come up with all sorts of reasons and excuses.” the former president said This is because some black men are not enthusiastic about Harris' candidacy. “There's a problem with that.
“Part of it makes me wonder if you just don't feel the idea of having a woman as president and are coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for it,” Obama claimed. did.
President Obama said it was “unacceptable” for black men to support Trump.
A higher percentage of black Americans plan to vote for former President Donald Trump, 78, in 2024 than in 2020, according to a poll. 1 in 4 black men are under 50 An NAACP poll last month found support for the 45th president.
“And now you think about silently supporting or supporting someone who has a history of defaming you because that's a sign of strength and that's what it means to be a man? ? Degrading women? That's unacceptable,” he said.
In the run-up to Election Day, at the first of a series of battleground state events in which the first and only black president in U.S. history stumbled to victory over Harris, 59, Mr. Obama was at his most animated, berating men. Those who believe Trump is the stronger candidate.
“I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I've noticed this, especially with some men who think that President Trump's actions are a sign of strength when he pulls people down and degrades them.” he said. “And what got me here is that it's not real strength.”
“[T[he good news is that you have candidates to vote for in this election that demonstrate that kind of care, who know what real strength looks like, who will set a good example and do the right thing and leave this country better than they found it,” Obama argued.
Earlier in his remarks, Obama acknowledged that rising prices under the Harris-Biden administration — which he attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic — have “ put a strain on family budgets.”
“I get why people are looking to shake things up,” he said. “I mean, I am the hopey-changey guy.
“So, I understand people feeling frustrated and feeling we can do better,” Obama continued. “What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania.”
He later compared Trump to the brutal, late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
“You’ve got the tweets in all caps, the ranting and raving about crazy conspiracy theory, the two-hour speeches — word salad — it’s like Fidel Castro, just on and on,” Obama told the crowd.
Reggie Jones, a black man from South Carolina who was selling Harris merchandise at the rally, told The Post he felt there was different reason the vice president was having trouble with black men.
“[It’s] Because she locked up a lot of us as prosecutors,” Jones said.
“I'm just selling her things for money,” he frankly admitted.
Sarmata Algali, a Detroit peddler and Harris supporter, said Trump's support among men stems from the idea that “he's going to be different.”
“Some men are tired of the same politics,” she says. “[Harris] Represents the same old thing.
“Trump is saying things that may sound ridiculous, but [but] They are excited,” she added.
Algali said some of her black male friends have accused Harris of supporting transgender surgery on minors and of incarcerating too many black men. I pointed out that I was listening.
“Instead of doing their own research, they just believe it,” she said.
“They think this assassination turned him into a total gangster,” Algali said of the black male Trump supporter. “It’s all bullshit.”
