Biden's Gaffes Aren't Helpful

This past week, Joe Biden was the lead panelist on The Breakfast Club, a highly acclaimed radio talk show hosted by Charlamagne tha God. Biden was there to discuss politics and current events. The Breakfast Club is a non-partisan radio show known for being blunt, and the hosts aren't shy about representing young Black values. When Biden was talking about his efforts on the campaign trail, he said that Black voters were his strength. When the group asked about Black Republicans, Biden essentially said that Black Republicans aren't Black.

This is just one of Joe Biden’s many gaffes, which play into the Republican narrative that Democrats take Black voters for granted. They also provide a simple truth for Democrats: to be the party of Black voters and other people of color, we need leaders with experience and with knowledge of the issues. Black voters will decide this election, and the size of their turnout will dictate the way we gauge the strength of Democrats in America. The truth is that even though the Republicans hold so much of the power in America, the values of most Americans are more aligned with Democratic values. So how will Black voters impact 2020?

There are two ways Black voters will impact the race: one way will be with electoral power and the other will be with enthusiasm. These factors that will either cause Biden to win or to lose. Right now Biden safely has many states with huge Black populations in his corner. Those states give Biden a good starting position to get to the 270 electoral votes needed to win. But if the Black community stays at home, Biden will have to spend money in those states, which could hurt his operations in battleground states. In those battleground states, if Black voters flip to Trump, then it's game over for Biden. 

Overall, Biden needs Black voters to be president, and he needs to wage a huge voter outreach effort focused on the Black community.