Former Democratic Party politician and CNN contributor Nina Turner criticized former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign on CNN’s NewsNight yesterday. Turner said she was concerned with Obama’s remarks directed to black male voters during a campaign event, and ask why the Obama and the Harris-Walz campaign are singling out black men:
Why are black men being lectured to? Why are black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group, now a lot of love for former President Obama, but for him to single out black men is wrong, and some of the black men that I have talked to have their reasons why they want to vote a different way, and even if some of us may not like that, we have to respect it. So unless President Barack Obama is going to go out and lecture every other group of men from other identity groups, my message for Democrats is don’t bring it here to black men who by in large don’t vote much differently from black women…. But this is wrong for President Obama, it is a wrong course for the Harris-Walz campaign to lay at the feet of black men when they have their reasons. In 2020 the Vice President was labeled as a cop as we know.
In response, NewsNight host Abby Phillip asked Turner “Do you, but do you think, sorry to interrupt you Nina, but do you think he’s right? That some of the reason, one of the reasons is because they don’t like the idea of a woman in the White House?”
Turner responded to Turners attempt at justifying Obama’s remarks, stating:
Listen, black men are socialized in the same society as any other man, so yes is misogyny maybe a part of it? But again is President Obama, and is the Harris-Walz campaign going to lecture other male groups in the same way that they’re lecturing black men? I don’t think so.
Obama’s remarks came during a campaign stop at a Harris-Walz campaign office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he spoke directly to black male voters and admonished them for not supporting Harris.
I’m going to go ahead and just say, speak some truths if you don’t mind, because my understanding based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities is that, we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running.
Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers, so if you don’t mind just for a second I’m going to speak to y’all directly and say that when you have a choice that is this clear, when on the one hand you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles, and pain, and joy that comes from those experiences.
Who’s had to work harder, and do more, and overcome and achieves the second highest office in the land, and is putting forward concrete proposals to directly address the things that are vital in our neighborhoods and our communities, from housing to making sure that our, our mothers, our, our fathers, our grandparents can afford medicine, and, and making sure that we are dealing with prices that are too high, and rents that are too high, and are committed to, is committed to making sure we maintain the affordable care act, so everybody’s got healthcare, and cares about things like education, and entrepreneurship in our neighborhoods, and that’s on one side.
And on the other side you have someone who has consistently shown disregard not just for communities, but for you as a person. If you’re thinking about sitting out… but you know, cousin Pookie might be, and you’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. I’ve got a problem with that, because, because a part of it makes me think, 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.
And I think anybody you are talking to at a barber shop, anybody you’re talking to in your house, in your family, at church, who is coming with that kind of attitude, I think you have to ask them, well how can that be because the women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time. They’ve been raising us, and working, and having our backs, and when we get in trouble, and the system’s not working for us, they’re the ones who were out there marching and protesting, and so now you’re thinking about sitting out, or even supporting somebody 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. That’s not, this shouldn’t even be a question.
Former President Donald Trump responded to Obama’s remarks, stating on Truth Social:
Obama admits a total lack of enthusiasm for Kamala, especially with Black Men. I think Obama will be voting for me because he doesn’t like the fact that Kamala is an extremely Low IQ Person!
