Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said Saturday that Black voters cannot be neglected in the 2024 presidential election between President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump.
The Georgia Democrat's comments come as polling data shows the president's support among black voters is waning. Just before he appeared on MSNBC to discuss the issue, the network aired USA Today The report found that 56% and 54% of black voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan support Biden, respectively — states the president almost certainly needs to win to stay in the White House — and both figures are down 20 points from 2020.
Warnock, who is also the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, said he has blended his two jobs to preach a gospel “that literally means 'good news'” about the Biden-Harris administration and its record on issues that concern Black voters.
The senator said Black wealth is up 60% from pre-pandemic levels and praised the administration's move to forgive 5 million student loan debt and the $16 billion invested in historically Black colleges and universities.
“We know there's work to be done,” Warnock said. “People are still struggling after coming out of a once-in-a-century pandemic. The question is, who's going to stand up for Black Americans? Joe Biden has a track record. Donald Trump has enough of his own problems.”
Moderator Charles Coleman Jr. asked Warnock about the effectiveness of the Biden campaign's messaging to black voters, which Warnock described as better than that of the former president.
“You can't take black voters for granted, and it's good that the Biden-Harris team doesn't take black voters for granted,” Warnock said. “The idea that black people just have to show up to the polls is just wrong. I think Joe Biden understands that. Kamala Harris certainly understands that. And that's why you're going to see as this campaign goes on that they've put a lot more money into it than Donald Trump did.”
Warnock's comments came the same day that Trump held a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia specifically designed to rally support among black voters. He likened Biden's 2024 campaign against Trump to his own 2022 Senate race, saying it was “as if black people are so ignorant they can't tell the difference between me and (Hershel Walker).”
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“The question for voters is, do you want to go back or do you want to go forward,” Warnock said. “I think the contrast couldn't be starker.”
Biden and Trump are scheduled to hold their first debate of the 2024 election cycle at 9 p.m. Thursday in Warnock's hometown. CNN will broadcast the debate from its Atlanta studios.