Local Black leaders are apparently feeling alienated as a result of President Biden’s campaign appearance in Saginaw, Michigan, which some perceived as a “missed opportunity” to meet with more community people.
According to organizers acquainted with last week’s trip arrangements, a Black church was among many original potential places for the president to attend. The plan was to find a location where union members, Black community leaders, college students, and supporters from other important constituencies could go after the event and knock on doors for Biden. However, the president only went to the front porches of two local White leaders before meeting with a Black family on a public golf course.
Hurley Coleman Jr., a Biden supporter and Saginaw pastor, called the trip a “missed opportunity” for the president’s campaign to engage with the community in a “real as opposed to what we saw.”
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“I can’t escape the reality that what was initially expected did not happen,” Coleman Jr., whose son and grandson saw Biden on the golf course, told the Associated Press. “And what was first planned has to happen. And sooner, rather than later.
Pamela Pugh, head of the State Board of Education and a Saginaw native, stated that Black leaders and religious leaders “felt like there was an opportunity that was missed for there to be back-and-forth conversation, but also for it to be more inclusive and inviting of the larger base.”
Pugh also described it as a “slight on the Black American community,” noting that “he was coming to Saginaw, and it seemed like it was to meet with the communities of color.”
Dr. Craig Tatum, lead pastor of Saginaw’s New Life Baptist Congregation Ministries, confirmed that his congregation had been chosen to be visited by Biden.
“I wasn’t necessarily given any reason why things changed,” he added, adding that being considered was an honor.
“People seem to have gotten their hopes up. It was a smaller audience, maybe 40 or 50 people, but I believe it was a good mix of age, gender, race, labor leadership, party leadership, and activists,” said Brandell Adams, who stood with Biden for a selfie on the front porch. “There are over 50 influential people in Saginaw. So, if I hadn’t had the opportunity to be on that porch that day, I could have felt the same way.
Any perceived slights might have a significant impact, as some Biden friends are already anxious about resentment in Michigan’s huge Arab American community over Israel’s Gaza conflict.
According to a January USA Today/Suffolk University poll, Biden’s support among Black voters has dropped to 63%, down from 92% in the 2020 presidential race, as reported by Pew Research Center. His support among Hispanic voters has dropped to 34% from 59%.
Biden’s reelection campaign directed queries about the visit to community leaders, guests at the president’s events, and the Michigan Democratic Party. State party chair Lavora Barnes said in a statement, “You can’t get a more fired up or authentic Joe Biden than the one we saw on a porch in Saginaw.”
According to a February Gallup poll, Democrats continue to have a considerable advantage over Republicans among Black voters, but their 47-point margin is the “smallest Gallup has recorded in its polling, dating back to 1999.”
When asked which political party they identify with, 19% of Black individuals answered Republican or lean Republican, while 66% replied Democrat or lean Democrat.