Joe Biden’s Most Potent Message Isn’t Reaching The Voters He’s Aiming For

President Joe Biden is a product of the American political system, a man who has spent all but the first handful of years of his adult life in federal office and, quite literally, credits the camaraderie of the 1970s U.S. Senate with saving his life. At some of the most high-stakes moments of his presidency — shortly before the 2022 midterms, at the start of his reelection year — he has traveled to historic spots to insist the system is worth saving.

On Sunday, however, Biden delivered a speech at Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia, with a distinctly different aim: To convince an audience of young Black men their democracy was worth fighting for.

“It’s natural to wonder if democracy you hear about actually works for you. What is democracy if Black men are being killed in the street? What is democracy if a trail of broken promises still leave Black communities behind?” Biden said during the speech, later declaring: “That’s my commitment to you: To show you democracy, democracy, democracy is still the way.”

Biden went through a smattering of his administration’s accomplishments, from removing lead pipes and spreading high-speed internet access to student debt relief. He acknowledged the suffering in Gaza and reiterated his support for a cease-fire in the war between Hamas and Israel.

At the end of the speech, however, there was a clear divide: Morehouse’s alumni stood and applauded Biden’s speech while most students remained seated.

It was a vivid depiction of how Biden’s own faith in the system is dividing his coalition and how out of step he is with the voters — mostly young, often Black or Latino, often male — who backed him in 2020 and are thus far refusing to do so in 2024.

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