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Biden, $14 million ad campaign for African-American voters

2024-05-22 20:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The presidential race in the United States is intensifying, as candidates are trying to attract supporters from their rivals. Most African Americans in the United States have historically voted for Democratic Party candidates. But as Voice of America correspondent Carolyn Presutti reports, President Biden's campaign team is beginning to worry about the possibility of losing support from some of these voters.

President Biden's campaign team bought $14 million worth of airtime for African-American voters in May.

Later, his campaign leaders announced a plan to invest more than $16 billion in African-American Colleges and Universities, which Mr. Biden adviser Steve Benjamin called "unprecedented and a record amount."

President Joe Biden last week criticized Mr. Trump in a speech at the Museum of African American History marking the 70th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Education Act.

“My ancestor and his friends with extreme views are now campaigning against diversity and equality across America. They want a country that favors some groups, not everyone," he said.

Black voters helped Mr. Biden win over former President Donald Trump in 2020. They still support him. But recent polls show that about 20% of younger African-American voters prefer Mr. Trump.

The owner of the "Grey Jett" restaurant is one of them.

"The Democratic Party has not only taken the African-American vote for granted, it has not even respected it," says Shana Gray.

Mr. Trump has struggled to woo African-American voters, often citing his legal troubles.

"Then I was sued for the second, third and fourth time. Many people said that this is why African-Americans like you, because they have been oppressed and discriminated against. The African American population liked my arrest photo the most. It's unbelievable," said Mr. Trump.

Mr Trump has enlisted former rivals in his presidential campaign team, including African-American Senator Tim Scott.

"We have a chance not only to keep our money, but also to raise our children," he said.

Mr. Trump's campaign team told VOA that "African-American and Hispanic voters, like all Americans, are far worse off now than they were during President Trump's tenure, and every poll reflects that reality."

Dana Williams, dean at Howard University, disagrees with that assessment.

“I think reliable polling companies still have shortcomings when it comes to black voters, including how and where questions are asked about this group of voters. The answers may be different for a group asked in a church compared to those asked in an African-American university," she says.

On Sunday, President Biden delivered a commencement address at Morehouse University, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. attended. But it remains to be seen whether these speeches and ads will be enough to win the vote of African Americans on November 5./ VOA