Rep. Clyburn dismisses Trump’s rising support from Black male voters in polling

Rep. James Clyburn (R-S.C.) on Sunday brushed off recent polling that suggests former President Trump’s support from Black, male voters is rising, arguing this voting demographic has not “left the fold” of Democrats and President Biden.

“I don’t think they’ve left the fold. I don’t know what is going on with the polling taking place here. I just had attended my state, my NAACP event last evening, I’m on my way to an [African Methodist Episcopal Church] … I’m going to tell you something. There [was] zero support in that place last night for Donald Trump, zero support throughout the African Methodist Episcopal Church,” Clyburn said on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.”

“Yes, there are some people — if he got 8 to 12 percent before — there are some people who vote blindly by party,” he added.

“The Hill Sunday” anchor Chris Stirewalt, speaking with Clyburn, pointed to a Wall Street Journal swing state poll in April that found about 30 percent of Black men said they were either definitely or probably going to vote for Trump. While not comparable to the the Journal’s poll, the newspaper noted Trump received about 12 percent support from Black men in the 2020 election.

Biden still had nearly double the support from Black men, with 57 percent choosing the incumbent in the Journal’s poll.

Clyburn said he has “no idea what’s going on with” polling and argued “something is wrong” with the survey system in the U.S. He pointed to a primary election in Maryland in which a candidate experienced a 20-point increase when comparing preelection polls to the actual numbers she received.

“How can the polls get that so wrong? That’s going on all over the country,” he said.

Clyburn, who stepped down from House Democratic leadership earlier this year, is expected to travel to numerous swing states later this year to bolster support for Biden among Black voters.

The initiative comes amid recent polls showing Biden losing support among young, Black and Hispanic voters, all groups that are crucial to his voting coalition.

In an interview with Punchbowl News last month, Clyburn said Biden “does not have a problem with Black voters,” while dismissing other poll numbers.

One poll from The New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer, released last month, found Biden leading Trump among Black voters, 63 percent support to 23 percent. This is a significant decrease from the 87 percent of Black voters who voted for Biden in 2020.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.