Trump Is Not the Only One Who Successfully Plays on Fear

In the home stretch before the U.S. election, Kamala Harris wants to motivate Black men in particular to vote for her. She should do that by igniting enthusiasm, not fear.

Less than two weeks remain before voters decide who will move into the White House. Donald Trump’s rhetoric is escalating once more in the final stretch of the campaign. He has already described his opponent Kamala Harris as “retarded,” and now he is upping the ante. He says that she has a “low IQ” and may have alcohol or drug problems. In Florida, Trump even leveled the racially suggestive charge that the Democratic candidate is “lazy as hell, and she’s got that reputation.”

It comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Republican candidate’s political career that the former president is shifty and racist. The fact that an increasing number of former Trump allies have spoken out against him is unlikely to deter anyone from voting for him, either. This time, it was John Kelly, Trump’s White House chief of staff, who warned us about Trump and his dictatorial tendencies.

However, the American press is surprised that Harris is losing among a voting bloc that has always been a sure bet for Democrats: Black voters. A New York Times poll that reported only 78% of Black voters would vote for Harris created quite a stir — 87% of Black voters went for Joe Biden four years ago. Harris, who could make history as the first Black female U.S. president, is performing badly among Black men in particular. Her approval rating in that group is just 70%.

Economic Issues

But will the remaining 30% automatically turn to Trump? The man who describes people who are not white as having “bad genes” and did not want to rent to them as a real estate mogul?

Somewhat. In fact, 20% could imagine voting for Trump. But the reason is not that he is a man and Harris is a woman — at least, that is not the only reason. More importantly, almost half of the Black men in the U.S. think Trump has good sense with respect to the economy, an issue that gave the former president an advantage over Harris from the beginning. So, when Barack Obama goes to a campaign event and charges that Black men are sexist because they don’t want to vote for Harris, he misses the mark.

The Democratic candidate would do well to present ideas to voters that could win them over. Harris is trying to do that at the last minute with her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” in which she is proposing forgivable loans for Black business owners, better jobs for people with less education, and research on diseases that disproportionately affect Black men, like sickle cell anemia. In interviews, she still prefers to incite fear about Trump.

We need a positive vision for the future that elicits enthusiasm among voters and brings all voting blocs — especially in the swing states — to the polls, instead of a bad conscience and dire images of the future that leave people without hope and which encourages them to stay home.