In the 2020 presidential elections, African Americans were a key part of the coalition that ended with Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump. The president will have to improve the numbers obtained four years ago to retain the White House, something that worries the most influential African-American leader in Congress.
For many political analysts, James Clyburn (D-SC) was instrumental in Biden's victory in the Democratic primary since he agreed to endorse him before the South Carolina primary, thus guaranteeing the support of voters of color in the state. Finally, that victory in the Palmetto State propelled the then-candidate toward the nomination.
"In South Carolina, we choose presidents. I'm calling on you to stand with Joe Biden," said the congressman about Biden in February 2020.
However, four years later, Clyburn is not very optimistic about the African-American support Biden could garner in 2024. In dialogue with CNN, he revealed that he had confessed his concern to the president.
"How worried are you about Black voters showing up for President Biden in November?" asked Jake Tapper during the "State of the Union" program.
"Well, I'm not worried. I'm very concerned, and I have sat down with President Biden, I don't know – I saw those reports. Also, I've seen one report indicating that I have sat down with President Biden and I did, with him. And I told him what my concerns are. I have no problem with the Biden administration and what it has done. My problem is we have not been able to break through that MAGA wall in order to get to people exactly what this president has done," Clyburn responded.
Biden's problem with African Americans for 2024
As revealed by the polling firm HIT Strategies at the end of 2022, African Americans' perception of the current president's economic management is not the best. Indeed, as POLITICO reported then, the results were "somber."
"Discouraged," "pathetic" and "pessimistic" were among the responses they got from a group of voters of color who chose Biden in 2020. Some even acknowledged things being better when Trump was president, which surely concerns the current president.
"Our economy is the lowest in God knows how long. We keep [sending] money to Ukraine and other countries instead of helping ourselves," said one respondent who lives in New Jersey. "I'm definitely not happy with where America was when Trump was president. And I'm not happy with where America is, now that Biden is president," said a Cleveland voter.
