Democratic rep 'very concerned' about Black voter turnout in 2024
Rep. Jim Clyburn told CNN's Jake Tapper that he was "very concerned" about Black voters turning out for President Biden in 2024 and said he expressed his concerns to the president.
Some South Carolina voters aren't pleased with President Biden's campaign and think he needs to step up his outreach to Black voters, NBC News reported on Monday, as they suggest the president "borrowed" support from former President Obama in 2020.
NBC News reported that South Carolina voters were questioning why Biden has sent billions of dollars to Israel and Ukraine instead of focusing on domestic policies. Voters said they wanted Biden to take action on police reform.
"And some suggested that Biden may have ‘borrowed’ Black support from Barack Obama during his 2020 election win," the report read.
A 41-year-old South Carolina voter told the outlet, "it's been a lot of broken promises."
President Biden speaks about a new manufacturing partnership between Enphase Energy and Flex LTD in West Columbia, South Carolina, on July 6, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
However, she also said she prefers Biden to the alternative, which could likely be former President Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner.
Former South Carolina state Rep. Fletcher Smith, who was a surrogate for Biden in 2020, told NBC that he was frustrated with Biden's staff.
"I think part of the problem with that is that the messaging from the White House is not actually resonating in the Black community," he told NBC News. "That administration looks like they don’t want the Black vote."
Smith said Biden benefited from being President Obama's vice president. Biden's 2020 Democratic primary campaign floundered early on with dismal showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it rebounded with a huge win in South Carolina that was powered by strong Black voter support.
President Biden speaks during a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College, Jan. 5, 2024, in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in his first campaign event of the election season. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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"There are some Barack Obama holdovers in his administration running the Barack Obama playbook. And that’s what’s hurting Biden. Biden needs to get his own playbook," Smith added.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who is a close ally to the president, told CNN on Sunday that he was "very concerned" about the Black vote.
CNN's Jake Tapper asked Clyburn if he was worried about Black voters turning out for Biden, as they did in 2020.
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"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," he said.
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