A new Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 1,200 "non-Hispanic Black adults" asked whether President Biden's policies helped, hurt, or made no difference to black people. Almost half -- 49 percent -- picked "made no difference." Ouch. When they displayed this poll result on CNN's Inside Politics on Thursday, I had to joke on Twitter that this poll would probably be buried inside the paper:
It will be fun to see WHERE this poll story will land tomorrow in The Washington Post. pic.twitter.com/s3EruYNcAF
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 25, 2023
Points awarded! The Post put the poll on page A-4, and it was not the main headline, which was blander:
In Floyd's wake, a reckoning for Biden's agenda on race
Many Black voters are disappointed, poll shows, after 2020's promises
Reporters Toluse Olorunnipa, Scott, Clement, and Emily Guskin began:
Three years after the murder of George Floyd sparked global protests and led then-candidate Joe Biden to endorse a broad platform of racial justice initiatives, the president is under pressure to prove to Black voters that he enacted as much of his equity agenda as possible — and that he remains committed to delivering for his most loyal supporters in a second term.
Always notice how Democrat newspapers and networks don't begin with "the death of George Floyd sparked deadly riots.leading to at least 19 deaths." That was deadlier than January 6, but in the liberal media's recounting, there were "global protests," not riots. On NPR's Left Right & Center podcast, host David Greene similarly summarized "George Floyd’s death sparked racial justice movements in the United States, and well beyond."
The Post trio noted that 66 percent of blacks approve of President Biden's performance, so they're not totally disgusted. But they have to worry about turnout. They turned to Democrat pollster Terrance Woodbury saying Republicans don't need a "red wave" to win in 2024, just "a splintering of [our] coalition by 10,000 votes here or 20,000 votes there."
Racial justice issues present a key vulnerability that could prompt Democratic "slippage" in the 2024 presidential race, Woodbury added.
The Post is nudging Biden from the left, that he's not fulfilling promises he's made on previous "Floyd anniversaries," that the federal "police accountability database" Biden promised last year has yet to appear. After using anonymous administration sources under Trump to run nasty attacks on the president's character and mental fitness, this is how the paper is now using anonymous White House sources: the quiet CYA.
“At this point, we don’t have a firm deadline yet on when the database will be online,” said one White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity ahead of the anniversary announcements.
There were several named sources suggesting Biden hasn't gone far enough and should still be hammering away at "police reform" to goose voter turnout, including the Floyd family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump.
PS: The Washington Post also buried both Republican presidential launches inside the paper this week:
For the record, the Post put Tim Scott's launch on Page A-5 on Tuesday. https://t.co/JxoNSTxjBU
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 25, 2023
