Nina Turner Criticizes Obama: ‘Why Are Black Men Being Lectured To?’
(Screengrab via CNN)
On Thursday night, former President Barack Obama found himself at the center of controversy after being called out by former Ohio state lawmaker Nina Turner. Turner took issue with Obama’s comments directed at Black men during a rally in Pittsburgh where he was campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris.
As Democrats closely monitor polling numbers in battleground states, Obama made a pointed appeal for support, specifically addressing Black male voters. “You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,” Obama remarked. “I’ve got a problem with that.” He suggested that some Black men might be struggling with the idea of a woman president, saying, “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.”
He went on to highlight the support women have shown historically, adding, “The women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time. When we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting.” Nina Turner, who served in the Ohio Senate from 2008 to 2014, expressed her disappointment with Obama’s remarks during her appearance on CNN’s “Newsnight.”
“Why are Black men being lectured to?” Turner asked her fellow panelists. “Why are Black men being belittled in ways that no other voting group [is]? Now, I have a lot of love for former President Obama, but for him to single out Black men is just wrong.” Turner went on to argue that some Black men have legitimate reasons for their voting choices that differ from those supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, told Newsweek.
“And even if some of us may not like that, we have to respect it,” she said. “So unless Barack Obama is going to go out there and lecture every other group of men from other identity groups, my message for Democrats is don’t bring it here to Black men who, by and large, don’t vote much differently from Black women.”
Turner emphasized the need for politicians to encourage voting without singling out specific demographics. She added that she hoped there were “a few good men out there who care about the stripping away of some of women’s bodily autonomy.” However, she reiterated her stance that it was “wrong” for the Obama and Harris-Walz campaign to lay blame on Black men, stating they have their reasons.
When asked by host Abby Phillip if Obama had a point about some Black men’s hesitancy toward Harris due to her gender, Turner acknowledged the possibility but stressed that this could apply to any demographic. “Black men are socialized in the same society as any other man, so yes, is misogyny maybe a part of it? But again, is President Obama and the Harris-Walz campaign going to lecture any other male groups in the same way that they’re lecturing Black people? I don’t think so,” Turner concluded.
