For decades, Black Americans have been one of the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting blocs. But in 2024, President Trump made significant gains among Black Americans, especially Black men. According to Pew Research, while President Biden won 92% of the Black vote in 2020, President Trump’s support among Black voters nearly doubled from 8% in 2020 to around 15% in 2024, including roughly 21% support among Black men. 

In our recent focus groups, Navigator heard from Black Americans who either shifted from voting to Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024 or who are Democrats that feel disaffected and unmotivated to vote, in order to assess the roots of their disillusionment and how leaders and elected officials can win back their trust.

Cost of Groceries, Gas, Healthcare are all Major Stressors

Participants said the stress of rising costs, like groceries and gas, is top of mind. Even with multiple sources of income, it’s not possible to make ends meet. The increasing cost of healthcare was also a major concern.

• “The inflation and the cost of living as well as the food, it’s just outrageous. People can’t afford basic necessities. Going to the grocery store is just unrealistic .” – MI man, less motivated Democrat
• “Honestly, for me as a young adult, it’s kind of a harsh reality seeing how bad we’re going. Businesses are going out or layoffs are happening. Gas rights are high. Airplanes are shutting down. I’ve never seen that happen in my lifetime.” – MI man, less motivated Democrat

The Government’s Role was Viewed as Helping People, but Seen as Falling Short

Participants viewed the government’s role as “helping,” but also falling woefully short, suffering from inaction and lack of results.

• “I think they do have a responsibility to their citizens… We put these people in office. So they definitely…should take a stance in making sure that everybody’s taken care of in the end.” – GA man, 2024 Trump voter, 2020 Biden voter
• “We the people, the ones who are out there every day working a nine to five, the middle class that literally are probably paying the most in for taxes. There’s just no benefit that’s coming to us. And every time there’s a tax law change or something that affects us, we just have to go with it. We have no say.” – GA woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat
• “I would say get the health premiums down to where you can actually have health insurance, because right now, they’re not making a decision as far as health insurance, and you got a lot of Americans going around the country not having health insurance. So anything catastrophic, they’re going to be financially ruined.” – NC man, 2024 Trump voter, 2020 Biden voter

Participants Say Words Are Not Enough, They Want To See Results

Black participants told us they want to see Democrats taking more decisive action and “do what they say,” rather than “step back.” Many said they’ll judge leaders based on results alone.

• “I need to see results. I need some results… If they haven’t already poured into the community and showed and they have proof that they have, I’m not voting for you.” – TX woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat
• “James Baldwin says a quote… he says, ‘I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do.’ So all they have to do is show me what you do.It’s not like, okay, you can say it all day if you want to, but show me.” – GA man, 2024 Trump voter, 2020 Biden voter

Trump’s Unprofessionalism and Erraticness Disturbs Participants

Trump’s behavior was widely viewed as disturbing, corrupt, and racist, many didn’t believe he was fit or qualified to serve the role. Though this didn’t always translate into enthusiasm for the Democratic Party.

• “And don’t forget, we got a racist president. And you got a whole country full of every color that’s outnumbering the Caucasians, but yet he still keeps trying to act like they are superior.” – GA woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat 
• “He’s just dividing [us]. People think they can say and do what they want to say and do. And it’s not fair that people get to go around and say things. And I think they do that because they think that Trump has been spilling all this stuff out his mouth that’s making people think that they can say what they want to say. They want to send us back to the 50s.” – TX woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat

2024 Election Options Viewed Poorly

Black Americans shared they weren’t enthusiastic about their choices in the 2024 election, but still cast a vote, feeling it was important to participate even if they felt the candidate options weren’t particularly appealing. While most Trump 2024 voters expressed serious grievances with Trump’s second term, most said they didn’t regret their decision as they didn’t feel like there was a better option.

Voting Widely Recognized as Important yet Unlikely to Bring Improvements 

Voting was largely viewed as civic duty – though some doubted its ability to bring about desired change.

• “I think that if it’s not for our generation [to fix], the next group they have to endure because it’s been a struggle for us as Black people, for probably before my grandmother was alive.” – PA woman, less motivated Democrat 
• “[Voting has] changed for me, real talk. I used to be a die hard, ‘Let’s go vote,’ especially during the presidential election. It was important. Our people died and fought and did so much for us to have the ability to vote. So it was really important to me. But now…I feel like my votes don’t mean nothing….I don’t even know if it’s worth it.” – GA woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat
• “I don’t think voting is actually seen anymore as a means to an end. I think it’s just more of a popularity contest. It feels like how you vote for the president in high school or something like that.” – MI woman, less motivated Democrat

Motivation to Vote is Declining with Lack of New and Results-Oriented Leaders

While many had a respect for leaders who fought for civil rights, many participants also craved new, fresh, younger leadership. This didn’t seem to depend on participants’ own age; even one of our older participants lamented that our political system “is coddling all these old folks.”

• “[We need] term limits. I’m tired of seeing the same people. So tired… New people. Fresh blood. Younger people, bigger voices, smarter voices. Just more different people.” – GA man, less motivated independent lean Democrat
• “Where is the new young, vibrant, fresh idea people? Where are they at?We’re at this point we’re just coddling all these old folks, but there’s nobody stepping up with young, fresh ideas to even take their place.” – GA woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat

Many Familiar with Callais Decision, Viewing it as an Attack on Voting Rights

The Supreme Court’s Callais decision was widely known and associated with gerrymandering and voter suppression. Even those unfamiliar with the decision still saw gerrymandering and voter suppression as (largely) Republican-driven symptoms of our broken politics.

• “The slashing for the Voting Rights Act, and the redistricting that they have allowed to set off while people are voting…is wild for me. Like, you, basically, are drawing us off the map.” – GA man, less motivated independent lean Democrat 
• “It’s like they’re trying to control the vote in a way, essentially… that means you may not get the representation that your district actually deserves if it was otherwise that line not drawn there… It just seems like it’s a way to control the vote.” – MI woman, less motivated Democrat 
• “Oh, yeah. Them shutting down Democrat gerrymanderings in certain voting Black-dominated voting areas throughout the country. They pretty much shut that down in the Supreme Court. So they pretty much gave the Republicans a huge advantagethis November.” – NC man, 2024 Trump voter, 2020 Biden voter

Participants Mostly Getting their News Online from Social Media and Podcasts

Legacy news media was almost as frustrating to participants as Trump and the economy. As one participant explained, “I can’t remember how you’re supposed to get on the TV and watch basic channels,” something she associated with her grandfather. Across groups, social media and podcasts were go-to sources of information and news. Don Lemon, Joe Rogan, and Roland Martin all came up across groups as trusted sources. Some participants also described a desire to avoid the news, viewing much of the content as depressing, and instead relying on friends or family to share information, or receiving brief updates while scrolling other content online.

• “I don’t even mess with the CNN stuff anymore. The local news, when I come home from work it’s on, I watch it then and I scroll on YouTube as well, look at the podcast and watch a lot of reaction videos… Joe Rogan is one, for sure.” – MI man, 2024 Trump voter, 2020 Biden voter 
• “[Don Lemon’s] my favorite. I believe everything he reports… I go straight to his page to see what’s going on because he keeps us updated with the current and he’s really on it.” – TX woman, less motivated independent lean Democrat 
• “I used to watch a lot of cable news… But those stations look like they’ve been bought out and overturned… So now I tend to go on YouTube and watch a lot of different podcasters… I watched Joe Rogan.” – GA man, 2024 Trump voter, 2020 Biden voter