For months, polls have shown that black voters, who make up President Joe Biden’s core, have seen him perform worse and are more open to voting against a Democrat than in any recent presidential election.
A new focus group of undecided black voters in North Carolina, particularly black voters who currently view both Biden and former President Donald Trump negatively, shows that while those voters are clearly unhappy with Biden, most of them see Trump as a person. unacceptable choice.
Those voters almost universally viewed Biden as “old,” deplored what they saw as his administration’s lack of follow-through, and questioned his political strength. But they described Trump in even darker terms, using terms like “crazy” and “scary.” Three of the panelists called Trump a racist for no reason, after which the majority of the panel agreed.
Results were obtained from two collaborative focus groups Busy, Syracuse University and Sago As part of the NBC News Deciders Focus Group series. The two groups included 14 black voters in North Carolina, a potential swing state, who said they were dissatisfied with both Biden and Trump.
“I feel like it’s the lesser of two evils. It’s either a politician trying to do things for the whole country, or someone who only thinks about himself or his party, his specific party and his people,” said Candice D., 44, of Charlotte.
Moments ago, Candice called Biden “old” and Trump “divisive.”
Carolyn G., 76, of Charlotte, made her choice the same way.
“I don’t want to go through four more years of Trump — ‘Make America Great Again,’ because America wasn’t great,” Carolyn said. “I don’t want to go through four more years of Biden being undecided about what to do.”
“And I don’t see Biden doing anything to make the cost of living more affordable,” said Carolyn G.
The comments speak to the Biden campaign’s efforts to frame the election as a binary choice between him and Trump, and why. Biden spoke of the deep frustration some voters faced at a recent campaign rally in California: “It’s not like you shouldn’t like me,” the president said. “That’s what you’re doing here: We have to stop this other guy from being elected president.”
Deep disappointment with Biden
In the face-off between Biden and Trump, only one of the 14 participants of the focus group confirmed that they would support Trump. But when the ballot was expanded to include independent Robert Kennedy Jr., academic Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, two said they would vote for Kennedy and one for West and Stein.
This result reflected some of the recent surveys. In a January NBC News poll, 75% of registered black voters said they would support Biden in 2024, while 16% said they would support Trump, consistent with past NBC News polls and other polls. That’s a decline among that group from 2020, when 85% of black voters polled said they supported Biden, 7% said they supported Trump, and most of the rest did not vote.
Ten of the 14 focus group participants said the economy was in shambles, complaining about price increases at the grocery store, rising costs of living and struggling to make ends meet with significant student loan debt. And those voters have widely criticized the Biden administration’s lack of accomplishments, even when presented with the administration’s own message. White House fact sheet touting his achievements in helping black Americans.
“I think it’s all political bullshit,” Julius C., 66, of Mint Hill, said of the White House message. “People are suffering.”
“I’m sure the numbers are statistically accurate, but not statistically significant. If there was a serious change in those areas, then it would be obvious. We could all see it and feel it in our daily lives,” said Michael G., 54, of Greenville.
“We would know people who were struggling to afford a home and were able to afford a home, and we would see people doing better than living paycheck to paycheck,” he said.
But while they fell short of Biden, many respondents made it clear that he could improve his stock with them and their communities, especially if they see tangible positive changes in affordability or follow through on his promises to eliminate student loan debt. They faced opposition in Congress, and the Supreme Court issued a ruling that overturned a sweeping executive action on student debt.
While respondents felt that Biden had not followed through on his promises, they also had positive things to say about his personal accomplishments.
“President Biden’s challenge in getting these voters in front of him boils down to the three Cs: communication, trust and credibility,” said Margaret Talev, director of Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship in Washington.
“Donald Trump is not winning over them, and many are deeply afraid of what a second term of Donald Trump might mean,” Talev continued. “But they’re very ambivalent about another Biden term, and if Biden doesn’t do more to change their minds, they could sit it out.”
Most people think Trump is a racist
Indeed, the group’s views on Trump were sharp, especially after the former president’s recent comments were shown to attendees. did at an event for black conservatives last weekend. Trump pointed to the criminal charges and said, among other comments, that “black people like me because of that” because they “have been discriminated against.”
None of the participants said Trump understood the concerns of black Americans, and 9 out of 14 said he was racist.
“This is probably one of the most racist comments he’s ever made,” Michael G. said. are we closed? Do we all have a cup shot? Do we all fall into this accusation bucket, and therefore should we feel closer to our over-accused president?’
“It’s like an insult,” said Kelly P., 38, of Jacksonville. “Are you serious? That’s what you think of us?”
Those sentiments, and similar ones, led a majority of voters to say they would back Biden in the fall. 12 out of 14 said they were more worried about four more years of Trump than Biden.
“Honestly, and I know this sounds terrible, I’m going to vote against Trump. If that means I’m voting for Biden, so be it,” Michael G.
But not everyone took Trump’s comments seriously.
TC, 40, from Lumberton, said: “He’s just being flattered to be honest. It’s funny, that’s why I’m laughing because I don’t really take any of the things he says seriously.”
“He’s fun to be honest, but he has to deal with his legal issues, and they’re serious.”
Some warning signs for Biden in third-party support
But this feeling was not one-sided. The four participants who said they would vote for one of the third-party or independent candidates showed how Biden could lose some support from black voters at the fringes — and the fringes were where the last two presidential campaigns were decided.
One of those contestants chose Shaleeya L. Cornel West, 28, of Gastonia. Criticizing Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, he said he grudgingly supported Biden in 2020 but wasn’t sure he would do so again now.
“Actually, I don’t vote for Trump. So, if I don’t want to vote for Biden, my choice is not to vote,” he said. He added that he’s worried about what will happen between now and November, particularly whether Trump is convicted or Biden’s student debt relief. waiting with reference to whether or not to take more steps.
“I don’t have any advantage yet. If we were to vote today, I probably wouldn’t vote,” Shaleeya L. continued.
Rich Thau, President Busy and the moderator of the sessions told NBC News that Shalia was “a symbol of voters who don’t like Trump — he pulled Biden’s lever once, but he didn’t see a record of Biden’s success that would force him back into office.”
Speaking of the group as a whole, he added, “the Biden campaign should have two concerns — that third-party candidates will steal votes, and that disenchanted Biden voters won’t vote at all.”
Harris gets poor grades
Although Vice President Kamala Harris was the first black person to hold the office, this group of black voters had few positive things to say about her.
They widely dismissed him as “no” or “inexperienced,” and only two were interested in seeing him run for president in the future. However, eight respondents said they did not believe Biden was using Harris to his full potential.
“I don’t know what he’s doing. I don’t really see him that much,” said Jerome L. “I don’t think he has the experience.”
She said she would be interested in seeing Michelle H. Harris become president because “there are a lot of ways for her to gain experience over other people.”
“He’s not an old white guy, he went to an HBCU, he’s black, he’s Asian, he’s a woman. So, to me, there are a lot of things that make him better than some of the people that have been thrown at us as a candidate,” he said.
Confusion over where candidates stand on abortion
Abortion is one of the top issues for the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 election, but this group of voters was unfamiliar with Biden and Trump’s position on the issue.
Three voters said they were unfamiliar with Biden’s position on abortion, and six said the same about Trump. All of the panelists said that Trump will end Roe v. He is at least partially responsible for the decision that overturned the Supreme Court’s decision in Wade v. Trump appointed three of the five justices who upheld the Dobbs decision.
Abortion will be the top three issues for five contestants in 2024, including four who support abortion access and one who supports overturning Roe.
“It depends on a lot of things, it gives an idea of where that person’s perspective is. Human life is valuable, and if it is spent in any field, it tells a lot,” TC commented on the issue of abortion.
“Women should have a choice, it’s their body. So I’d like someone who’s willing to be there for that,” Kelly P. said.