Coming into the final week of the 2024 presidential campaign, the Democrats are concerned that usually a guaranteed constituency, African-American males, are displaying a lukewarm response to Kamala Harris.

At this stage of the campaign, both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton were way ahead with black American men.

Earlier this month, former President Barack Obama who enjoyed over 80 per cent support from African American men chided them for not fulsomely supporting Harris and said they were reticent because she is a woman. 

Obama said: “I’m talking to the brothers now. You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody [former president Donald Trump] who has a history of denigrating you because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable.

“You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. I’ve got a problem with that. Because part of it makes me think—and I’m speaking to men directly—part of it makes me think that well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

Obama faced disapproval for this from both black men and black women who felt he was scolding them like a parent would children.

Many say why should we vote for Harris simply because she is a black woman? They feel it is belittling to think that black voters can only see things through the prism of race.

Over the weekend Michelle Obama spoke as a surrogate for Harris and many are of the view she would have been the better candidate, able to take down Trump. There can be little doubt that Michelle has political appeal and is impressive on her feet—there are no word salads there.

There is a schism between men and women today, more so between black men and black women.

 Harris should have made a concerted effort to target men of colour knowing Trump will secure well over  70 million voters. She didn’t, and instead many black men are favouring Trump. Why?

Donald Trump embodies alpha masculinity and that resonates with black men. Brothers are not into “trans” and the woke agenda. They want real talk from real men. They know who Trump is and what he is all about. The same cannot be said of Harris. Harris needed to do more to let the American people know who she is, what is her vision for America, what are her policies. It is not enough to denigrate Trump, label him as authoritarian or a fascist. She has to make a clear demarcation between herself and Trump.

Today women talk about toxic masculinity, that they desire a man with “666” attributes”. Younger women want to be “influencers” and to put on a show with thirst traps on Instagram. Some even say they don’t need men and don’t want children. It is unfortunate that many black men see Kamala Harris as the poster child for these “unmanageable” women and the last thing they need is one in the White House. The gender war is real.

Black men interpret Make America Great Again as Let’s Return to a World of Real Men. Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff are not guys African-American men aspire to be.

Harris has to be mindful not to make the same mistake Hillary Clinton made. Both of them sold Trump as odious, a man of low moral character, a reprobate. Americans don’t care. Black men don’t care. Hispanic men don’t care. White men don’t care. White women don’t care. He is a felon, he slept with a porn star, he insults people, he is uncouth…. No one cares. He is authentic and doesn’t beguile people with the familiar wiles of politicians. His unscripted approach resonates and is appreciated. He is a political force of nature.

In this regard, black American men are not unlike other demographic voting blocks.

With about a week to go, Harris has to make the closing argument. Show Americans who she is and what she will do to make America a better country. However, she takes comfort that more women will be turning out to vote and many will vote for her. But it must be noted that when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, he secured 55 per cent of the white women vote.

Trump’s favourability on issues like inflation, the economy, immigration and crime is higher than Harris’. It is a winning strategy. Trump doesn’t have to introduce himself to the American people—he did that years ago. They know what they are getting with him. Harris has to work three times harder than Trump on the stump. She left it late in talking with the media and picked platforms that would defer to her. Black men are picking up on all this.

“Kamala Harris is the ultimate DEI hire. There are so many black women looking down their noses at black men because they got the bag, they got the big job because they fit the quota. Black men have always been feared never favoured but try telling sistas that. They say we are feckless, we can’t pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, that we are undeserving of them. Now they have a lame champion we are supposed to get behind. ‘I come from the middle-class, Trump is bad’ is not a case to become President of the United States, sorry,” said Thomas Johnstone, speaking to Our Today from Madison Square Garden in New York 

“Can you honestly say you are convinced and inspired by Kamala Harris? The platitudes sound good but it doesn’t move you to get off the couch and go vote. America was in a far better place under Trump than it is under Biden. As president, Trump was not a terrible tyrant with racist, fascist tendencies. Life was better, prices were lower, there were no wars, people were making progress. That’s what all Americans want,” said Raul Mato, an investment banker from Hialeah, Florida.