As President Joe Biden grapples with criticism over his recent debate performance and questions about his capacity to manage a second term, leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus are rallying to back the incumbent.
Notable figures such as caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (D-NV) and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) are showing strong support for Biden, while others like Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) are cautioning against doubting Biden’s viability as the Democratic nominee.
Biden joined a Congressional Black Caucus meeting via call at 7:30 p.m. on Monday to “discuss the stakes of the 2024 election and their shared commitment to beating Donald Trump this November,” as confirmed by both the Biden campaign and a House Democrat source to the Washington Examiner. This call also allowed caucus members to ask the president questions directly.
“You’ve had my back. And I promise I’m going to continue to have yours,” Biden assured caucus members, according to the Grio.
Unity within the Democratic Party will be crucial for Biden’s campaign in the upcoming 2024 election, as any signs of division could alienate black voters—a vital demographic that played a significant role in Biden’s 2020 victory. Black voters contributed to Biden’s narrow wins in key battleground states, with 92% of black voters supporting him, compared to Trump’s 8%, according to the Pew Research Center.
Biden’s edge with black voters this time is bolstered by his selection of Kamala Harris as the first black female vice president and his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first black woman on the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Biden will need robust support from black lawmakers to secure a second term.
“I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I need you! I’m not going to disappoint you. I promise you,” Biden emphasized at the end of the call with caucus members.
Horsford, facing a competitive general election, stated on Monday that Biden “is the nominee” and that voters nationwide and in Nevada are “moving forward.”
“They’re focused on moving forward and reject the divisive politics of those who would like to take us back,” Horsford said. “They know President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting for them. Like me, they don’t want to see Donald Trump back in the White House and are ready to work and VOTE to ensure that doesn’t happen. We’re not going back, we’re moving forward.”
Senior black House Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) also reaffirmed his support for Biden on Monday.
“I want to make it clear: As a senior Democrat in the U.S. House, I fully support our President and Vice President, and we will defeat Trump again! #BackingBiden #BackingBidenHarris,” Thompson posted on X.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) echoed this sentiment, stating to the Washington Examiner, “No one who has accomplished what President Biden has accomplished should step aside. With so much to run on, this is not the time to leave. It is encouragement to stay and fight!”
Rep. Ritchie Torres issued a warning to his fellow Democrats, arguing that questioning Biden’s fitness as the nominee is “self-destructive” and could further weaken the president in the general election.
“Those publicly calling on President Biden to withdraw should ask themselves: what if the President becomes the Democratic nominee? The drip, drip, drip of public statements of no confidence only serve to weaken a President who has been weakened not only by the debate but also by the debate about the debate,” Torres said on Monday.
“Weakening a weakened nominee seems like a losing strategy for a presidential election,” he continued. “The piling-on is not so much solving a problem as much as it is creating and compounding one.”
Despite some polls indicating a shift of black voters away from Democrats, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) recently dismissed the notion that Biden is losing black support to Trump.
“Something is amiss with the polling,” said Clyburn, a key figure credited with rescuing Biden’s 2020 campaign in South Carolina. “Anybody who believes that Donald Trump will get 30% of the Black male vote or 12% of the Black female vote — I got a bridge down there on Johns Island I’ll sell you.”
Clyburn’s support for Biden and Harris remains strong, especially after Biden’s recent calls to prominent Democrats for support following a lackluster debate performance.
While several House Democrats have urged Biden to step down, former Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond noted that these calls predominantly come from white Democrats, potentially alienating their base by withdrawing support from Biden.
“I think it’s interesting that not one African American member [of Congress] has called on the president to step down,” Richmond told Politico, adding that such lawmakers “risk alienating some of their base” by rescinding support for Biden.
Wilson criticized her colleagues for doubting Biden, stating, “What Democrats need to be doing is stop listening to these political pundits and focus on what’s at stake this election: our democracy. End of story. I stand with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and so should all Americans.”
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and former Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH) mirrored Wilson’s sentiments, both expressing unwavering support for Biden.
“We are standing up with the Biden-Harris team because they have delivered for protecting our freedom and our democracy,” Beatty said.
Blunt Rochester affirmed her support on X, stating she is “100% ridin’ with Biden” and he is the “only one we can count on to defeat Donald Trump. And he will win.”
Nonetheless, not all black Democrats are united behind Biden. Michael B. Moore, a candidate for South Carolina’s 1st District, called on Biden to step down for the party to find a new nominee.
“This is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” Moore stated on July 4. “What happens this November will set our country and our democracy on one of two courses, and the outcomes will be felt for generations to come. The party needs to come together to identify and rally around a new nominee, and look to President Biden’s experience as the only candidate to beat Donald Trump less than four years ago.”
However, many Democrats are dismissing the debate’s impact as a reason to seek a new nominee. Rep. Al Green (D-TX), a Congressional Black Caucus member, told MSNBC on Sunday that he remains confident in Biden.
“I’m supporting him. I do believe he is the best person for the job. I’m not just saying, ‘I support him, and if there’s another person out there, let’s look for that person.’ I’m not in that camp,” Green said.
Stay tuned to the Silent Majority Report.
