Opinion | Trump, Biden, 2024: 11 Black Voters Discuss

Paul, 57, Georgia, veteran

Leadership.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

Morality.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

The economy. I come from a big family, and I’m the breadwinner. I feel every single penny when I go to the market and when I gas up my car. Things aren’t as cheap as they used to be.

Jeremy, 34, Georgia, microbiologist

The cult of progressivism.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

Morality. We are a nation that has lost its way in terms of morals as it deals with God, as it deals with family — for money in a lot of cases.

Paul, 57, Georgia, veteran

Curious.

Jeremy, 34, Georgia, microbiologist

Ambivalent.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

Excited.

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

Apprehensive.

Samuel, 28, Arizona, data analyst

Excited, too.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

Exhausted.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

Hopeful.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Blah.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

Optimistic.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Hopeless.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

Illusion.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

There are so many things going on that the election is a distraction from the reality of the things we need to do. It’s an illusion of hope in a particular person, that things are going to change.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

I said I am excited because I think it’s time for change, and I think everybody’s aware of that.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

The reason I said “hopeless” was, post-Covid, things seemed like they were going good for a while, but then people began to separate all over again, and then we got the economy going up and down, gas prices.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

Leadership and competency. Like, if a person ain’t competent to run this country, then it doesn’t matter what the issue is; he’s going to fail at all issues.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

Probably the border. It’s affected some people I know personally up in Philadelphia — family.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

My cousin is a schoolteacher, and her school, a private school, had to house some — I don’t know if they’re illegals, but I just know they were families that came from the border. She has four kids, and all her kids go to that same school. And none of these people had background checks or anything like that, so it was just a safety concern. I’m down here in Georgia, and I felt hopeless in a way that I couldn’t help her or be there for my little nieces and nephews.

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

The most important thing on my mind is crime. I live in Las Vegas, and Nevada is one of the most dangerous states in the United States. Crime has jumped in Las Vegas, a lot of homelessness.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Education. I’m a school leader. Coming out of Covid, our kids are behind, and nobody’s mentioning it. The only mention we got is that the National Education Association is on strike, and the current guy in the Oval Office — he didn’t want to break the picket lines.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

Health care is crucial because our nation overall, especially with the past two leaders, has such a misunderstanding of what health care means and really where the needs lie.

Jeremy, 34, Georgia, microbiologist

I see very progressive groupthink mind-sets, a very heavy emphasis on emotion, like on race relations or climate change. A lot of the time, it’s overcorrection — an acknowledgment of things that happened in the past and an unhealthy fixation with using that as a weapon, in terms of pushing through governmental policies.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

I’m 31. I wrote my senior thesis paper on reparations, so I definitely saw myself as liberal-thinking. But then I learned more and more that that’s just kind of an identity more than it is really an ideal kind of mind-set.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

This current election cycle — it’s surprising how far we’ve gone.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Just when you think that it can’t get any crazier, it’s just like, wow, I didn’t think they did that in America. I’ll give you a perfect example: the recent presidential debate. The thing that blows my mind is that people were actually surprised and are now sounding the alarms as if the news wasn’t talking about this for the last couple of years, about how bad and how off track the president is mentally.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Within my lifetime, I guess Obama — not only for the fact that he’s the first minority president, but it just seemed like his whole campaign was “Things are going to change.” He did make certain progress, especially amongst minorities.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

I would have to circle back to Kennedy, to be honest.

Samuel, 28, Arizona, data analyst

Obama.

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

I would have to say Trump. He had the lowest unemployment numbers for Black Americans in a long time, so just by that figure alone, I would say Trump.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

Obama brought a lot of trust from the community back into the office of the presidency.

Jeremy, 34, Georgia, microbiologist

President Lincoln.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Trump, with what he did with the H.B.C.U.s, as far as making sure that there was money, as far as what he did with the ex-offenders.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

In my lifetime, it would have to be Trump. H.B.C.U. financing, the things that people went through after Covid. I had Obama for a good chunk of my adult life. It was good for theatrics and getting people into politics, but what actually happened?

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

I’m going out on a limb. I would say Biden. I have some nephews, and Biden really has helped them to wake up from the illusion that Obama kind of created. We got to do a lot for ourselves.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

In my lifetime, I’m going to say Trump, but before my lifetime, I have to say Roosevelt. Honestly, I think it’s a collaboration with him and Eleanor. I think my generation tries to look at Trump as, like, this racist guy or whatever. I don’t think Trump really cares about your race as to what you stand for and how you act, pretty much. It’s not the fact that you’re Black, you’re white, yellow or purple. It’s like, OK, when you step into public, how are you going to conduct yourself?

Jeremy, 34, Georgia, microbiologist

The assumption that every Black male youth is an automatic victim due to either systemic racism or factors outside of their control.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

I think they have underestimated how much Black men care about their family. We don’t want excuses as much as they think we want excuses. We want people to get out and work and do certain things. The value of the Black man in the household, when it comes to what our value is and how much we think we’re needed, I think that’s undervalued.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

I think they’re confused. I think they went so far to try to do so many different things, and now there’s more of an independent thought with Black men in this country.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

I don’t think it’s Black or white. It’s just job security, the economy, going to the grocery store and getting a bang for your buck. But there are issues that do strike the community more, like police brutality.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

It’s the pandering to the Black race, thinking that we are looking for a handout and feeling sorry for us, when we’re capable and culpable. And I feel like the pandering of “all you broken-down people, you need us, and here we are; we’re going to help you” — it’s not a respectful tone or manner. It’s insulting, actually.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Equality.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Us as minorities, it’s hard in society just basically coming up in general. We’ve been fighting for rights for years. And I don’t feel as though they see that.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

I would say opportunity. They have this mind-set of up by the bootstraps. And that’s definitely true in some ways. We can make things happen for ourselves. But I have a lot of friends that were born with a house already. They didn’t have to do anything, and they already have a house. That doesn’t happen in our world a lot.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

Republicans think that since many of us came up Democrats, they think they’ll never get our vote because our parents were Democrats and friends were Democrats. Whereas I’m looking at where the country is. I’m way more conservative than I was just a few years ago.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

So when I started looking at TikToks, you’ll see people go around asking, “Would you vote for Trump, or would you vote for Biden?” and “Why wouldn’t you vote for Trump?” And when I hear my generation, the first thing they say is, “He’s a racist.” But it’s like, bro, do you really know that, or are you just following the bandwagon? Trump isn’t a racist. He doesn’t care what color you are; it’s just how you carry yourself. The man is a businessman.

Samuel, 28, Arizona, data analyst

Knowledgeable.

Paul, 57, Georgia, veteran

Unfiltered.

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

Fairness.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

Leadership.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Businessman.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Courageous.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

I’ll say “leadership.”

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

Figurehead.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

Respected.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

Take him as he is.

Jeremy, 34, Georgia, microbiologist

Unapologetic.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

He’s been more vocal than other presidents about his intentions with our H.B.C.U.s, with jobs. He’s kind of taken the bull by the horns, for lack of better terms. And other people haven’t really done that. Trump is take it or leave it. I’d rather know who I’m dealing with than have to guess who I’m dealing with.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

With Trump, I would say he’s very bold and courageous. If he says he’s going to do it, he’s going to do it. As far as other presidents, I can say that he’s one who sticks to his word.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

I think some of the actions he’s taken during, especially the Covid time period, were some things that nobody in history has ever done. Like the stimulus checks, and I think there were three of them. No president has ever given the American people, especially the Black community, that much just for emergencies.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

It helped me pay rent for several months. It kept me in the fold of looking forward — to not lose all the things that I worked for up until that point, just because jobs were closed.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

A lot of presidents try to do too much. And he’s a rich man, and rich men, they know how to surround themselves around people that know things. And I think he was able to do that, able to navigate through that, by talking to some people.

Paul, 57, Georgia, veteran

I think it’s better because he’s not a politician, per se. He’s a businessman. He thinks of getting money, making money. Politicians will tell you about a program or something that they have for our kids’ kids and not for us. So the first time in history, we saw something actually happening for us through Donald Trump. And I think personally he did more for Black colleges than any president has, and people don’t recognize that.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

He made America our focus, and not all the other countries. He focused on the home front, and that had a significant impact on us as a country and as a people.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Yeah, he did put America first. It was just the fact that he was like, “Well, wait a minute, what about us? And if you’re going to elect me, I’m going to take care of us first.”

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

My friends thought I was crazy at first. But the choices that we were given, I felt that Trump might be the choice that may help us out a little bit more. So from the first time we had the choice of Trump to now.

Paul, 57, Georgia, veteran

I always liked Trump. I’ve been doing music for the last 30 years. And I’m from Flint, Mich. We listened to the music coming from New York. Donald Trump was around rappers who were in New York. He had his ear to the street. He knows the culture, and people don’t see that.

Samuel, 28, Arizona, data analyst

I’ve always liked Trump because he’s an unfiltered man. He’s someone who knows what he wants to do and someone who won’t pretend to like what he doesn’t like. And I love the fact that he’s a very knowledgeable and experienced businessman.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

I wouldn’t say it’s as much as I liked him; I respected him. And like Paul mentioned before, a little thing, he was one of the most mentioned names in rap music up until he ran for president. I also felt like we needed someone that wasn’t a politician in office. Now, do I like all the antics and things like that? No. But he was respected. He puts the cards on the table. For example, when he was talking about NATO and other countries, he was like, “You’re going to pay us to protect you.” I guess there’s that part of the common street element that we understand, too, right? I don’t agree with anyone totally anyway, right?

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Yeah, I couldn’t stand that man. Trump came out and started attacking people’s religion and immigrants. I mean, he was hitting a little bit too close to home for me. I’m married to an immigrant. He was attacking my religion. And so I definitely had no good thoughts about him. But he got in, and he actually did so much good. So the second time around, yeah, my entire family was — well, not my entire, my wife still hated him — but we started to come around and say, “All right, we got to get this guy.”

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

I didn’t like him. There were some things I heard — he’s a racist, he’s a loudmouth, he’s a bigot — and I guess I fed into the narrative of the legacy media that they were spewing out, all this stuff about him that he’s racist this and racist that. But then I had a friend of mine who started telling me more stuff about him, and I started doing some research, and I found out, well, if he’s so racist, why is he giving to H.B.C.U.s? Why is he the president that gave the most money to H.B.C.U.s? If he’s so racist, why did he hire the first Black female Marine brigadier general?

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

It is definitely one of those gray areas you just kind of leave alone. I mean, my wife, we’re more in line with each other. She’s Puerto Rican. But my Black friends, if I straight told them that I was going to vote for Donald Trump tomorrow, they might stop being my friend. They might think I’m going crazy or something. And it’s honestly just because of what they see in the media and what they hear from other people. It has really nothing to do with their own research. It’s everybody else’s bias, and they just kind of follow the bandwagon when it comes to that, and I think I was part of that society until I broke the chain. I was like, “Wait a minute, man.” And with everything that he’s done, it’s just like, “How can you not vote for this guy?” He’s, I feel like, the first president that hasn’t been a politician, whereas everyone else has been a politician.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

I was in television and actually worked with him. Working for him, I don’t see how this guy can really be racist, where 90 percent of the staff here are African Americans. And he never yelled at anybody. He never disrespected anybody.

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

Yeah, there’s a journalist; his name is Joshua Philipp, and he writes for The Epoch Times. Every time I listen to him — he’s definitely conservative, and you can definitely hear that as he reports the news — but he’s always telling you where he got his information from. He’s not pandering to you.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

I have to say the mainstream media backfired with the second impeachment, Jan. 6. A very small portion of what he said was replayed and replayed and replayed and replayed. But when you listen to the whole thing in totality, it gave some more perspective. Some of my friends and family members that grew up on the streets — he became relatable to them because of seeing how things were falsely presented against them.

Theodore, 36, Georgia, construction

It probably made me more pro-Trump, to be honest. I feel like there’s probably been presidents throughout history that should have been convicted and prosecuted for crimes and they weren’t.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Yeah, definitely. He’s more relatable. To see that he’s a human being. You can make mistakes in life and still progress and move on and still accomplish things.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

I would just say it made me pay even more attention to some of these things that they try to throw out there. They’re already doing this whole Project 2025 thing to try to deter people from moving Trump’s way.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

I would say the mainstream media overall, just trying to create these narratives that people will pay attention to.

Samuel, 28, Arizona, data analyst

No, no, no. I don’t think it’d be right for him to tell the Justice Department to drop the charges against him. The department should be able to carry on its process.

J.D., 50, Arizona, coach

Every politician or political figure knows loopholes in the system. But I don’t think he should be able to do it. No one is above investigations.

Branden, 46, Nevada, retail merchandiser

The one thing that stuck with me was how everybody was so surprised about Biden’s incompetence, his old age, his stammering and his lack of focus. If you paid attention, he hasn’t been there for the past three years.

Aamir, 30, Pennsylvania, security

Trump didn’t look as sharp as in the debates he had during the previous election. But I know that, on his side, he has a lot going on as well. I know that Biden said he just had a bad night. But that was more than a bad night. That was bad in total.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

We know what happens to the human body as it ages. I studied the neurobiology of aging. These are men over 70. They’re going to be experiencing cognitive decline. You can’t avoid it.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

Nothing.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

Agreed.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

I would say worse. Honestly, you really don’t see her as the vice president. She’s never here. I don’t see her doing anything.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

I agree.

Marlon, 47, Georgia, florist

It’s probably a mix between the two. You see her every now and then, but — as a political leader — I didn’t see her really show up much.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

I didn’t have a high opinion of her going in. But she hasn’t done anything, and she just really soured in that role.

Khaled, 50, Pennsylvania, school principal

I like that guy Vivek. He’s young. He’s energetic. He speaks his mind.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

I think if there were a real opportunity, I would definitely be voting Cornel West, but that couldn’t happen in this world.

Dylan, 31, Arizona, program manager

He isn’t a politician.

Rashad, 40, Pennsylvania, graphic designer

We want everybody to be decent people. But at the end of the day, we want to get the job done. We don’t have time for emotions and pandering or whether someone’s feelings get hurt. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t want to hurt no one’s feelings and have no one upset or upset no communities and things like that. But I just need a strong leader. That’s all I need.

Paul, 57, Georgia, veteran

I think being a decent person is what everybody should be anyway. And that’s not going to help the economy. That’s not going to help us in wartime. But a strong leader is somebody that other countries will fear. And Biden and the Democrats, they want to talk it out and do this and that. I’m ex-military, so I’m like, looky here. If you put the fear in somebody, say, “Look, we will bomb you, you come over here with that crazy stuff.”