CNN data reporter Harry Enten expressed astonishment on Monday after recent polling revealed former President Trump is expected to gain substantial support from Black voters in the upcoming 2024 election.
An aggregate of network polls indicated a notable decline in support for President Biden among Black voters, dropping to 70% in 2024 from 86% in 2020. Meanwhile, Trump has significantly increased his backing within this demographic, tripling his support from 7% in 2020 to 21% in 2024.
“I keep looking for signs that this is going to go back to normal and I don’t see it yet in the polling,” Enten commented. “If anything, right now we’re careening towards historic performance for a Republican presidential candidate, the likes of which we have not seen in six decades.”
Enten highlighted that Biden’s support among Black voters over 50 has seen a slight decline. However, the current president’s support from Black voters under 50 has dramatically decreased, plummeting from an 80-point lead in 2020 to just 37 points in 2024.
“I’ve just never seen anything like this. I’m like speechless,” Enten remarked.
In late May, Enten stated that Trump’s gains with Black voters represent a “huge alarm” for Biden’s re-election campaign. He pointed out that without considering other voting shifts from 2020, the increase in Black support alone would secure Trump a win in 2024 with 291 Electoral College votes.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll published Sunday found that support for Biden among Black voters has dropped roughly 20 percentage points since the last election in both Michigan and Pennsylvania. In Michigan, Trump now holds 15% of the Black vote compared to Biden’s 54%.
Trump had received just 9% of the Black vote in Michigan during the 2020 election.
In Pennsylvania, the poll shows Trump with 11% of the Black vote, up three points from 2020, while 56% of Black voters still prefer Biden.
The latest Fox News poll shows Biden receiving 72% support among Black voters, an increase from 66% in February but still a decline from his 79% support before the 2020 election. Among all voters, Trump currently holds a narrow lead over Biden.
