President Biden on Tuesday issued a grave warning to Black voters about what is at stake in this year’s election.
Speaking at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Biden spoke of Project 2025, a controversial transition plan some conservatives have vowed to adhere to should former President Trump be reelected in November.
“The MAGA officials will undo everything the NAACP stands for,” said Biden. “They want to deny you freedom: the freedom to vote, have your vote counted. They’d impose a nationwide ban on abortion.”
“I’m not being dramatic, but we cannot let that happen,” Biden added.
Trump has denied having anything to do with Project 2025, but the plan has become a hot topic for Democrats in the months leading up to November.
But Biden also detailed what his administration would do for Black Americans if he is reelected.
On his first day of his second term, Biden promised to call on Congress to pass protections against voter suppression including the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. He also said he would ensure the nation would see police reform by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. He also promised to restore Roe v. Wade, the ruling legalizing access to abortion that the Court overturned two years ago.
Audience members applauded Biden, chanting “Four more years!” as the president spoke.
Black voters are a crucial demographic Biden must win over if he hopes to remain in the White House in November.
According to 2020 exit polls, 87 percent of Black voters cast their ballots for Biden, just 2 percentage points lower than Hillary Clinton’s 2016 support but significantly lower than former President Obama’s 93 percent in 2012.
But Trump has also been hoping to build Black voter support this year, and he has used popular Black leaders and celebrities to spread his message. Most notably, Trump leaned on reality TV star Amber Rose, who spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis., on Monday evening.
Still, Biden on Tuesday made his case for Black voters gathered at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
He spoke of his administration investing $16 billion into historically Black colleges and universities; forgiving millions in student loan debt; and enacting legislation such as the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which made lynching a federal crime.
“There’s more work to do. This is the moment to be engaged,” Biden said. “We must all be defenders for freedom, justice, equality and the bedrock of democracy.
“There’s been no more important voice in that truth than the voices of the Black community. When America has failed to live up to what we say we believe — you don’t give up hope and nor do I. We’ve always loved this country, even when it has not loved us back. We’ve worked hard, hard as hell. Just think about it. Our children, your children, grandchildren — ask yourself what America you want to leave them. My answer is an America of hope, fairness, opportunity, possibilities.”