Black Americans lined up to vote for President Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election, who endorsed a series of racial justice initiatives, but three years later many are dissatisfied.
According to a poll of more than 1,200 Black people conducted by Ipsos and the Washington Post, 49% of Black Americans believe Biden’s policies have not made a difference for Black people and only 28% feel Biden’s policies have helped them personally.
President Biden has made strides in terms of diversity, organizing the most diverse presidential cabinet in U.S. history and nominating Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, he has failed to deliver on some of his biggest election promises including student loan debt relief, police reform and protections against restrictive voting laws.
Looking forward to next year’s election, many
Black Americans aren’t enthusiastic about their choices. 54% of respondents say it would make them angry to see Donald Trump become president again and another 29% would be dissatisfied but not angry. Additionally, Black Americans do not view other Republican candidates favorably including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Black Republican Tim Scott, and Nikki Haley as more than 50% of Black people view all three unfavorably.While the majority
of Black Americans will not support Republican presidential candidates, enthusiasm for Biden’s reelection is somewhat lacking. According to the poll, less than 20% of Black Americans say they’d be enthusiastic if Biden was reelected and almost half (48%) said they’d feel satisfied but not enthusiastic about Biden’s reelection.“Black voters’ contribution to Democratic margins, especially in these battleground states, are critical to Democrats’ success,” Terrance Woodbury, a
Democratic pollster told the post. “A red wave for Republicans doesn’t require a wave of Black voters voting Republican; it just requires a splintering of [our] coalition by 10,000 votes here or 20,000 votes there.”A number of Black politicians endorsed and supported Biden during his 2020 campaign including Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Majority Whip and Congressman James Clyburn, and Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams.