A Detroit pastor accused Vice President Kamala Harris of “exploiting” the Black vote as she prepares for an event with podcaster Charlamagne tha God in a bid to shore up support with Black males.
Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, who leads 180 Church in Detroit, detailed why he is “offended” by Harris’ decision during “Fox & Friends.”
“I have never been so offended in my life,” Sewell told Lawrence Jones on Tuesday. “She’s bringing a man here who is Charlamagne, a false god, to a community that has 4,500 churches, all people of faith. We are extremely offended that she’s bringing a podcaster here to talk to Black men about politics. She brought a retired athlete to Flint who is failing – Magic Johnson – and she brought Oprah to Oakland County, as if she understands the plight and the playing of people that look like me.”
“We will not allow virtue signaling. We will not allow identity politics. Black men are not political infants,” he continued. “We know exactly what’s happening with the Democratic Party. We know that they’ve exploited us for over six decades, and we are saying, just like Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘Let my people go.’”
Harris dismissed polling this week that indicates she has lost support with Black men during a 23-minute sit-down with Black-focused entertainment outlet “The Shade Room.”
She was asked about polls indicating that the Democrats’ advantage with Black voters has declined from past presidential cycles, and among Black men in particular.
“When you hear those numbers, and you’re seeing in the polls — Black men aren’t as excited or fired up for you, how do you respond to that?” host Justin Carter asked Harris.
The VP immediately dismissed the polls and suggested that things could change in the next three weeks before the November election. “One, that’s not my experience,” Harris responded. “Two, Election Day has not arrived yet.”
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Harris went on to say that she is not taking these voters for granted and is working to earn their support.
“Black men are no different from anybody else. They expect that you have to earn their vote. And that’s why I’m out here,” she continued.
“It’s incumbent on me to earn their support, that’s why I’m talking to folks about the work I’ve done in my career,” she said, citing her efforts to help strengthen small businesses and pledging to continue to do so if elected as president.
According to a New York Times/Siena College poll released on Saturday, Harris currently holds 78% of the Black vote, which is down from 2020, when President Biden won approximately 90% of that voting bloc. It’s also down from 2016, when Hillary Clinton won approximately 92% of the Black vote. Harris’ support among Black men has dropped even more significantly, according to the report: 70% said they would vote for Harris in November, down from Biden’s 85% in 2020.
“She continues to think that she can entertain her way to the Black vote,” Sewell said. “We’re offended, and we want her to be willing to actually bring real solutions to the complex problems that we’re facing in urban America.”
Meanwhile, Harris rolled out her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” this week, which includes providing 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business, championing education, training and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries and lead their communities, including pathways to become teachers.
Fox News’ Kristine Parks, Nikolas Lanum and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
