Obama in despair over lack of black voter support for Kamala Harris

Barack Obama showed his indignation with the lack of enthusiasm among the black community, whom he addressed as "brothers," toward Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. The former president deemed such a stance "unacceptable," while attacking Donald Trump, calling him "someone who has a history of denigrating you."

"You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? [Trump] has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person – And you are thinking about sitting out?" said Obama during an event in Pittsburgh, where he was joined by Democratic Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.

The former president was not shy in saying that he does not see the same support he had from the black community when he ran for office.

"We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all corners of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running. Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers," he said.

Obama: Black voters not 'feeling' the idea of seeing a woman as president

During his appearance, the former president seemed to hit on the main reason why the black community is not supporting Harris as fiercely as they did him.

"It makes me think, and I'm speaking to men directly ... that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that," Obama said.

Harris is not the first woman to go to an election as a party's nominee, but she could be the first to assume the role of president.

Democrats alarmed by lack of black support

Traditionally, the black community has been fertile ground for the Democratic Party, garnering a significant percentages of votes.

However, there appears to be a change in trend for the November election, as reflected in the polls. One of them, conducted by the Pew Research Center, showed that 77% of black voters will vote for Harris, more than 10 points less than Biden and Harris received in the 2020 election. This reflects the flight of black voters from the Democratic Party.

It is a situation that has generated alarm within the Democratic ranks. Therefore, they launched initiatives such as “Black Voters for Biden-Harris,” presented in May with the aim of stopping this exodus and maintaining the black community’s loyalty to the party.