NewsBusters Podcast: Top Newspapers Worry as Biden Slips with Black Voters

January 29th, 2024 10:55 PM

The front pages of Monday's New York Times and Washington Post both expressed alarm at President Biden's slippage with black voters, the most reliable Democrat voting bloc. The Times channeled "black faith leaders" who are demanding Israel submit to a ceasefire in Gaza, including some well-known Louis Farrakhan fans, including Barack Obama's infamous pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the one who spoke positively about 9/11.

The headline was “Black Pastors Pressing Biden on Cease-fire.”

“This is not a fringe issue,” said the Rev. Michael McBride, a founder of Black Church PAC and the lead pastor of the Way church in Berkeley told the Times. It's not for the fringe? Among the advisory board of Black Church PAC is Rev. Wright, his Chicago friend Fr. Michael Pfleger, and Dr. Ron Daniels, who called Farrakhan a "jewel." 

Reporter Maya King even highlighted Rev. Frederick Haynes, the current leader of the Jesse Jackson-founded group Operation PUSH, who called Biden's support for Israel "a stain, a scar on the soul of America." Rev. Cynthia Hale sides with the Palestinians: “We see them as part of us. They are oppressed people. We are oppressed people.” 

The Washington Post story was headlined "Analysts warn many Black voters growing weary of Biden.” Reporter Michael Brice-Saddler reported from Michigan, outside Detroit. The first subject is Pontiac resident Bryan Killian-Bey, who says “Democrat canvassers show up around election time vowing to improve conditions for him and his neighbors, but it never happens.” He’s torn between voting for Biden and not voting at all.

The Post added: "The Biden-Harris campaign and Democratic leaders have taken notice of the sinking enthusiasm among Black voters, particularly after a 10 percentage-point decline in Black voter turnout in the 2022 midterms compared with 2018."

Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts.