Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty /Obama's Speech Harmed Harris' Chances Swing Voters
By Hugh Cameron
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Former President Barack Obama's recent speech may have done more harm than good to Kamala Harris' standing among swing state voters, as social media analysis revealed a negative reaction to his scolding of the Black, male electorate for its reluctance to support the vice president.
Heading into the final stretch of the 2024 election, the Democrats have called upon the former president to rally behind Harris on the campaign trail. However, comments made prior to Harris' recent rally in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania elicited a largely negative response.
Analysis conducted October 10-14 by social media monitoring firm Impact Social found that the online reaction to Obama's appearance was significantly negative, with many considering his remarks to be disrespectful and patronizing to Black voters.
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Ahead of a Pittsburgh campaign event on Thursday, Obama spoke to a group of Black Harris supporters, and questioned the lack of support for the candidate, saying: "We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running."
Appearing to suggest that sexism lay behind the apprehension to support the Democrat, Obama said that the issue "seems to be more pronounced with the brothers."
His speech was intended to remedy apparent gaps in Harris' support among the base, with which she is currently failing to garner the backing Biden enjoyed at a similar stage in 2020. It also spoke to disparities in levels of support for the candidate among Black women and men, as revealed by a recent NAACP poll.
However, Impact Social's language analysis of 12,000 posts, compiled from its user database of 40,000 swing state voters, revealed that his comments aroused a significantly negative reaction among Americans.
In the four days following Obama's appearance, Impact Social found that the overall sentiment toward the former president was largely neutral (50 percent) or negative (33 percent), with only 17 percent of comments from October 10-14 speaking of him positively.
Depending on the sentiment, Impact Social also sorted comments into respective positive or negative perspectives, before breaking down the specifics of each.
In online discussions that were positive, 33 percent expressed support for Obama, 9 percent defended the former president, with 13 percent and 19 percent praising his administration's overall record and economic record, respectively. Some 13 percent were anti-Donald Trump, 6 percent anti-MAGA or GOP, 4 percent pro-Harris and 3 percent pro-Democrat.
In the negative camp, 38 percent of posts were considered by analysts as "backlash" against Obama and his comments. A further 27 percent and 12 percent took aim at the former president and his record, respectively, with 4 percent attacking the Obama economy. Some 14 percent were more broadly anti-Democrat, with 3 percent expressing support for Harris and 2 percent supporting Trump.
The organization also published some notable examples of online "backlash" against Obama's Pittsburgh appearance, with one calling him "disrespectful" and saying: "There's no wonder why so many black men are p*****."
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"Obama calling out black men will sink Kamala's ship," another read.
However, there were many posts defending Obama's comments, one of which read: Whenever Obama tells uncomfortable truths it never ceases to amaze me how folks are more upset about him pointing & calling out the truths than the problems themselves."
Others praised Obama for using his "unique position" as a Black man - as well as a former president - to address Harris' apparent lack of support among this group.
According to Impact Social, based on responses from the independent voters included in its analysis, many "saw the former president as being racist and disrespectful," and that they considered it reminiscent of Biden's infamous "you ain't black" comment to Black voters during the 2020 campaign.
Newsweek spoke with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) about Obama's comments and it responded to the former president's anxieties about the Black male turnout.
The organization's senior vice president of campaigns and mobilization, Dominik Whitehead, said: "Make no mistake - next to Black women, Black men are the second most reliable voting bloc in the country. We will vote."
However, Whitehead told Newsweek that for Harris to shore up this support, he wants "to see substantive policy solutions to address the issues top-of-mind for us, our families, and community."
Mark H. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League, an organization dedicated to "economic empowerment, equality, and social justice" for African Americans.
In a statement shared with Newsweek, Morial said that particularly young, Black men had not felt represented by the issues that have dominated the 2024 Democratic campaign, with its focus on women's reproductive rights, immigration and the taxation of the America's billionaire class.
He said: "It's understandable that they don't feel the same sense of urgency as other constituencies. So, President Obama's message to Black men was both necessary and appropriate.
"He has earned the right to tough talk, and his words carry weight to voters who were more motivated and enthusiastic to support his election. Anyone who says it was condescending has never been in a barbershop or in a conversation among Black men."
For a copy of Impact Social's full report please click here.
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Update 10/15/24, 12:58 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from the NAACP.
Update 10/16/24, 12:23 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from the National Urban League.
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