Landrieu dismisses Trump’s potential 21 percent support with Black voters

Mitch Landrieu, the co-chair of President Biden’s campaign, pushed back on recent polling that shows former President Trump doing well with Black voters, saying there is “no universe” where he will win 21 percent of the demographic’s vote in November.

“There’s no universe in which Donald Trump is going to get 21 percent of the Black vote,” Landrieu said during an appearance on CNN. “That’s never going to happen. And so it’s not that we’re not worried about that, but we’re fighting very, very hard for every vote.”

Landrieu was reacting to a question from CNN’s Sara Sider based on data compiled by CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten that is based on an aggregate of polling data.

“The records of each of these men is clear in this regard. Polling is always important. But it is true — and I think you guys have to recognize — that it has been vastly wrong for a lot of time, especially in the recent past,” Landrieu said.

Janiyah Thomas, Black media director for the Trump campaign, touted the figure in a statement to The Hill. 

“The Biden campaign sees that President Trump is up to 21% in the polls with Black voters, a record high that we haven’t seen in decades. President Trump knows that Black voters prefer lower taxes, which he delivered in his first term, and like all Americans, oppose Biden’s hiking tax rates. Ultimately, President Trump’s economic policies offered more opportunities to build generational wealth for Black families,” Thomas said. 

“Biden boot licker Mitch Landrieu is an idiot,” said Steven Cheung, campaign spokesperson for Trump.

Both Biden’s and Trump’s campaigns have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to get their messages out to Black voters. Multiple polls have shown President Biden’s support among Black voters could be shrinking ahead of November’s election.

The Biden campaign recently launched Black Voters for Biden-Harris, an initiative to mobilize support in the Black community for the president. Biden has tried to paint himself as a contrast to Trump to Black voters, arguing last month that the former president was “pandering and peddling lies and stereotypes” for their vote.

Trump has also tried to appeal to Black voters by making a trip to the South Bronx last month and by speaking to supporters in Detroit over the weekend. He also launched a coalition targeting Black Americans over the weekend as he made his pitch to the voters.

A poll from The New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer, released last month, suggested that Biden’s support among Black voters could be falling. Biden still led Trump among Black voters with 63 percent support to 23 percent, but that is down from the 87 percent of Black voters who backed Biden in 2020.

This story was updated at 1:51 p.m. EDT