Wavering Black voters: Biden is flawed -- and Trump is unacceptable

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

61% : Rich Thau, the president of Engagious and the moderator of the sessions, told NBC News that Shaleeya was "emblematic of voters who -- disliking Trump -- pulled the lever for Biden once, but haven't witnessed a track record of Biden success that would compel them to return him to office.
51% : Ten of the 14 focus group participants said the economy was in lousy shape, lamenting price hikes at the grocery store, the rising cost of living and the struggle to make ends meet with significant student loan debt.
48% : "Indeed, the group's views on Trump were stark, particularly after the participants were shown recent comments the former president made last weekend at an event for Black conservatives.
47% : But while they were down on Biden, many of the respondents made clear that he could improve his stock with them and their communities, particularly if they saw tangible positive changes on affordability or more follow-through on his promises to eliminate student loan debt, which have run into opposition in Congress and a Supreme Court ruling undoing a broad executive action on student debt.
45% : The January NBC News poll showed 75% of Black registered voters saying they'd support Biden in 2024, while 16% said they'd back Trump, similar results to past NBC News surveys and other polls.
41% : Trump appointed three of the five justices who backed the Dobbs decision.
39% : Abortion will be a top-three issue in 2024 for five of the participants, which includes four who support abortion access and one who supported the decision to overturn Roe.
34% : She added that she's waiting to see what happens between now and November, specifically referencing whether or not Trump is convicted or whether Biden takes more steps on student debt relief.
32% : "For a fact, I'm not voting for Trump.
30% : That represents a dip among that group from 2020, when 85% of the Black voters surveyed said they backed Biden, 7% said they backed Trump and most of the remainder said they didn't vote.
30% : All of the panelists said that Trump was at least partially responsible for the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
28% : "In a head-to-head matchup between Biden and Trump, only one out of 14 focus group participants affirmatively said they'd back Trump.
28% : Trump pointed to his criminal indictments and said "that's why the Black people like me," because they "viewed me as I'm being discriminated against," among other comments.
26% : The two groups included 14 Black voters in North Carolina, a potential swing state, who say they're dissatisfied with both Biden and Trump.
26% : "The comments speak to the Biden campaign's efforts to frame the election as a binary choice between him and Trump -- and the reasons why.
24% : But they largely described Trump in even bleaker terms, using terms like "crazy" and a "grifter."
21% : Just moments before, she called Biden "old" and Trump "divisive.
21% : Three voters said they were unfamiliar with Biden's stance on abortion, while six said the same about Trump.
19% : "Honestly, and I know this sounds terrible, I'm gonna vote against Trump.
18% : None of the participants said Trump understood the concerns of Black Americans, and nine of the 14 said he is racist.
16% : Twelve of the 14 said they were more worried about four more years of Trump than they were about four more years of Biden.
14% : "Donald Trump isn't winning them over, and many deeply fear what a second Donald Trump term could mean," Talev continued.
10% : While abortion has been one of the top issues for the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 election, this group of voters lacked some familiarity with where Biden and Trump stand on the issue.
4% : Yet a new focus group of undecided Black voters in North Carolina -- specifically, Black voters who view both Biden and former President Donald Trump negatively at the moment -- illustrates that while those voters are clearly dissatisfied with Biden, most of them also see Trump as an unacceptable choice.
1% : A focus group of Black voters with negative feelings about both Biden and Trump found them more willing to overlook Biden's flaws than Trump's.

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