Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a speech to members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, on September 17, 2024.
Piroschka Van De Wouw | Piroschka Van De Wouw Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday laid out how her economic proposals could particularly help young black men, a key Democratic voting bloc that polls show Republican former President Donald Trump is losing ground to this election cycle. Progress has been made.
“I think it’s really important not to assume that Black people are in anybody’s pocket,” Harris said in an interview with a panel. national association of black journalists. “I’m trying to earn votes instead of assuming I’m going to get votes because I’m black.”
A new poll released Friday by the civil rights group NAACP found that more than a quarter Black men under 50 supported Trump over Harris.
To win those votes, Harris focused on economic arguments. At NABJ, she described a “journey of economic opportunity for Black people” that she began earlier this year before becoming a presidential candidate.
She also noted that her work has “added billions of dollars” to community banks’ ability to expand access to startup capital.
“There are a lot of entrepreneurs in our community who don’t have access to capital, but they have great ideas, incredible work ethics, ambitions, ambitions, dreams… but don’t necessarily have the connections to get financing or grow a small business,” Harris said. explain.
The Democratic presidential candidate cited things like the $50,000 small business tax break and elimination of medical debt She believes both would target historic economic disparities within the black community.
“When they do better economically, we all do better,” Harris said.
Such proposals could help Harris address two glaring weaknesses in the Democratic Party this election cycle: public perceptions of the economy and young black people who tend to vote for Trump.
Before Harris took over the Democratic ticket from President Joe Biden in July, NBC News Poll found that 25% of black voter respondents aged 18 to 49 supported Trump over Biden.
Biden won 92% of black voters in 2020 election pew research center analyze. The prospect that Democrats could lose a quarter of prime voting-age black adults to Republicans has set off alarm bells.
Polls show Trump abnormal power For Black voters, this election cycle may be driven in part by nostalgia for the pre-COVID economy he presided over.
The high cost of living has become a top concern among voters during the Biden-Harris administration, as the U.S. economy’s recovery from high post-pandemic inflation hangs in jeopardy.
As Harris works to position herself as the economic relief candidate, her campaign is also working to shore up support among black voters.
When Trump met with NABJ reporters in July, he faced backlash for questioning Harris’ racial identity and calling her a “DEI employee.” He also rebuked interviewers for asking questions about his past remarks about black people, which Democratic Party and republican party They all say they are racist.
“It’s the same old show. Divisive and disrespectful,” Harris said Tuesday of Trump’s appearance on NABJ. “I just want to say that the American people deserve better.”
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