Will protests against police brutality lead young black voters to the ballot box this fall?
With fewer than five months till election day, Fox News political analysts Jehmu Greene and Gianno Caldwell break down whether the George Floyd protests will have staying power for young black voters as they head to the ballot box this fall.
Joe Biden doesn’t appear to be inspiring confidence among young Black voters, a new report claims.
On Wednesday, USA Today reported that many young Black voters aren’t enthusiastic about the presidential candidate and some are even hesitant to vote for him in November.
“[Young Black voters] are going to have some reservations about Joe Biden,” Chryl Laird, assistant professor of government at Bowdoin College and author of “Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior," told USA Today.
She explained that he’s a Democratic “image of a status quo politician.”
However, even with their concerns, USA Today reported that polls indicate most young Black voters prefer Biden over President Trump.
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, puts on a face mask after speaking at an event in Lancaster, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Meanwhile, the newspaper reported that older Black voters are much more supportive of Biden.
Laird told USA Today that’s because they recognize that “change takes time,” while young Black voters want the Democratic party to make a “more progressive lean."
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Biden has been criticized several times during his campaign for what Laird called “moments of problematic commentary or statements.”
In May, Biden told radio host Charlamagne The God: “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.”
He was widely criticized for the comment and later apologized for being “cavalier.”
Biden also doesn’t support defunding the police, which protesters have been calling for in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed after Derek Chauvin, a White Minneapolis police officer, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The former vice president said this week, however, that some funding should "absolutely" be redirected from police.
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Biden is making an effort to gain support from young Black voters, by starting grassroots groups for Black students, USA Today reported.
The support of Black voters’ is widely recognized as crucial for Biden to win the election -- especially in swing states like Michigan and Florida.
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