Harris has Obama and may have Beyoncé. They’re not really who she needs    We haven't been able to take paymentYou must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.Update payment detailsAct now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.Update payment detailsYour subscription is due to terminateWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account, otherwise your subscription will terminate. Update payment detailsMore from The Times and The Sunday TimesTap 'Menu' and then 'Explore'Tap 'Menu' and then 'Explore'DismissAccessibility LinksSkip to contentSearchHomeUKWorldCommentBusiness & MoneySportLife & StyleCulturePuzzlesMagazinesLoginSubscribeLog inSubscribeHomeUKWorldCommentBusiness & MoneySportLife & StyleCulturePuzzlesMagazines Video IconDAVID CHARTER ANALYSISHarris has Obama and may have Beyoncé. They’re not really who she needsThe Democratic nominee is struggling to win over young black men — endorsements by female celebrities and ‘know-it-all’ interventions by Barack Obama are unlikely to helpDavid Charter, WashingtonFriday October 25 2024, 1.15am, The TimesBarack Obama appeared with Kamala Harris in Georgia on Thursday nightKEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERSDavid Charter, WashingtonFriday October 25 2024, 1.15am, The TimesPrepare for headlines about “single ladies” rather than “childless cat ladies” as Beyoncé is expected to finally show up for Kamala Harris after failing to materialise at the Democratic convention, despite the rumours.Photographs of them together in Houston on Friday will be worth a fortune in free advertising, but another female celebrity endorsement is unlikely to move the dial much in the deadlocked presidential race. A roster of top female stars have endorsed the vice-president, including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Cardi B, without any noticeable impact on voter intent. What Harris needs now are men.Beyoncé probably has more chance of cutting through to the crucial demographic of younger black men than Barack Obama, who berated them earlier this month for giving Donald Trump a look during comments to activists in Pittsburgh, blaming misogyny and sexism.Celebrities including Bruce Springsteen and Spike Lee speak at a rally for Harris“Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that,” Obama said. An article for the Brookings Institute by two young black men argued that “among most black men, there is consensus — Obama went too far and needed to ‘watch his tone’.”• Obama’s rap on the knuckles risks alienating votersAdvertisementRashawn Ray and Keon Gilbert wrote that Obama — who appeared alongside Harris on the campaign trail for the first time on Thursday night — generated more resentment than support from his target audience because he did not call out white, Latino or Asian men, or even white women — all demographics that vote less consistently Democratic than black men. Only black women have a stronger voting record for the party.Lots of younger black men are put off by Harris for a number of reasons, they argue, from her not being “black enough” in the US context because her parents were not the descendants of American slavery, to her career in law enforcement and politics far removed from their own experience. Harris attended a historic black university, Howard, and has access to rarefied networks provided by a top college and a sorority of professionals across the country.• The police shootings that could have ended Harris’s career“Obama and Harris may be prototypes for the growing social class divide among black Americans. Around 10 per cent of black men make at least $100,000 a year and less than 20 per cent have a bachelor’s degree,” Ray and Gilbert wrote.Read moreWhat would Harris do as president?Pick the president: use our tool to map a path to electoral college victoryI went to Harris and Trump’s biggest rallies — whose was better?Trump appeals to feelings of alienation among those finding it tough economically, an approach with the potential to transcend ethnicity.AdvertisementBeyoncé probably has a greater connection with this younger generation than what the two authors called Obama’s “tough love” as a “political-know-it-all uncle”. Of Beyoncé’s 314 million followers on Instagram — even more than Swift’s 283 million — 51.7 per cent are female and 48.3 per cent are male, according to analysis by starNgage, an influencer marketing agency.Beyoncé and her husband, the rapper Jay-Z, campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Below: the singer on the cover of her latest albumDAVID MAXWELL/EPAPARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENTBut the GenForward survey at the University of Chicago, a deeply researched analysis of how race and ethnicity shape the experience of millennials and Gen Z, found some key shifts in findings published this month. Interviews with 2,359 voters aged 18 to 40 found a quarter of young black men supporting Trump. This compared to the overall picture for all black men in 2020 of almost nine in ten backing Joe Biden.Among young Latino men, 44 per cent said they were backing Trump, up from 38 per cent in 2020. Harris had 58 per cent support from black men and 37 per cent with Latinos, down on Biden’s performance and a reason why she seems to be struggling in polls in the “sun belt” southern and western swing states with their more diverse populations. She is doing much better with black women (63 per cent) and Latinas (55 per cent).Harris does not need Beyoncé. She needs Jay-Z.WorldRelated articlesVideo IconVIDEOSwift backing for Harris adds to Trump’s women problemSeptember 11 2024, 7.40pmKeiran SouthernVideo IconTOM NEWTON DUNNI went to Harris and Trump’s biggest rallies. Whose was better?October 24 2024, 7.25pmTom Newton Dunn in Atlanta, Georgia, and Butler, PennsylvaniaPROMOTED CONTENTBack to topGet in touchAbout usContact usHelpThe Times Editorial ComplaintsThe Sunday Times Editorial ComplaintsPlace an announcementClassified advertisingDisplay advertisingThe Times correctionsThe Sunday Times correctionsCareersMore from The Times and The Sunday TimesThe Times e-paperThe Sunday Times e-paperThe Sunday Times Wine ClubTimes Print GalleryThe Times ArchiveTimes Crossword ClubSunday Times DrivingTimes+The Sunday Times Rich ListTravelGood University GuideSchools GuideNewslettersBest Places to LiveBest Places to StayTimes AppointmentsPodcastsTimes Money MentorTimes LuxurySportswomen of the Year AwardsBest Places to WorkPuzzlesMore from News CorpThe AustralianBarron'sDow JonesFinancial News LondonInvestor's Business DailyMansion GlobalMarketWatchRealtor.comThe SunTimes Literary SupplementThe Wall Street Journal© Times Media Limited 2025.Registered in England No. 894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.Privacy & cookie policyLicensingSite mapTopicsPuzzles ArchiveAuthorsCommissioning termsTerms and conditions 
>Overall, we rate The Times and Sunday Times as right-center biased based on story selection and editorial positions that favor the right. We also rate them as Mostly Factual in reporting rather than High due to a failed fact check.