Stephen A. Smith accused Democrats of “forgetting” about Black Americans, leading to President Trump’s small boost in support among the demographic during the 2024 election.
Speaking on NewsNation’s “Cuomo” Monday night, Smith said Democrats don’t take the time to tell Black voters what they have been doing successfully. Instead, he said, they simply repeat the same talking points they have had for decades.
“[Democrats] may be doing things on the state and local level, and may deserve an abundance of credit for it, but that’s not the message that we were receiving. And you know why we weren’t receiving that message? Because they didn’t think they could sell it to us. They didn’t think that that would be good enough,” Smith said.
Instead, Smith said, many are prioritizing other communities and issues.
“With this latest stuff, with the whole woke culture, cancer culture, transgender issues and all of this other stuff you got to remember along the way, you forgot about us and why? Because you know you have our vote, because that’s been the case since the mid-60s,” Smith said.
Smith, who recently said he is “leaving all doors open” for a presidential run, added that Democrats have also begun to “ostracize” Black voters and guilt them into voting for the party by accusing Republicans of being racists.
“We’re going to point to racism, we’re going to guilt you into voting for us. We’re not going to talk about the things that we’re doing positively. We’re going to talk about what the other side is doing negatively, to engage in fear mongering, to help you through fear factor go our way instead of theirs,” he added.
Though a majority of Black voters support Democratic candidates, advocates have long condemned the Democratic Party’s approach to winning over Black voters. Many accuse Democrats of waiting until the last minute to engage with the community and of taking their votes for granted.
Many have also expressed frustration over narratives blaming Black voters for low voter turnout when Democratic candidates lose despite Black voters being one of the most consistent voting blocs.
Trump, Smith said, has tapped into Black voter frustration since 2016.
“When he was campaigning in 2015-2016, he basically looked at Black America and said, ‘What do you have to lose?’” Smith said. “He was basically pointing to the Democratic Party and how for so long, so many promises have been made, but ultimately, what you’re doing is trying to encourage us to lean on a party and lean on government.”
“We don’t like to trust the system, because the system has hurt us as a community,” he added.