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The Michael Steele Podcast

A Moment Of Clarity: "What broke the relationship with Democrats and the African American community? " - Michael Steele

The Michael Steele Podcast

The Bulwark

Politics, Government, History, News

4.83.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What's really driving the numbers in American politics? Michael Steele tackles the crucial topic of Black voter participation and the strained relationship between the African American community and the Democratic Party. He argues that focusing on superficial "distractions"—like the No Kings Rally—misses the big picture: a significant trend line of shifting engagement. Steele breaks down the implications of events like the handling of the Kamala Harris moment and how it has damaged trust, particularly with Black women.

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Listen to The Michael Steele Podcast: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/the-michael-steele-podcast

Watch The Michael Steele Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJNKzTkCZE9uNqPiKYw5eU5YkS_mMsr6o

Transcript

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0:00.0

And now for a moment of clarity.

0:05.0

What do you make of that?

0:08.0

That the white, the guy in Baltimore, the paper there said,

0:12.0

we struggled to, our photographer, to find a picture of black people in this march.

0:18.0

I'm okay with that. I didn't go and I feel like, well, you talk.

0:26.6

Well, we had a meeting.

0:30.6

Yeah. Go ahead.

0:34.1

Yes. And let's just say it didn't go too well for white folks, that's all.

0:40.3

No, look, I look at that.

0:43.3

That to me is, that's a distraction for me to go down that road,

0:48.3

because the No King's piece is very different from another piece that that question I think gets to.

0:56.0

And that is the relationship that broke with Democrats and the African American community in the last cycle,

1:02.3

particularly with black women. And so I think the No Kings thing, I would set that aside because,

1:08.3

you know, you look at the fact that in the first version of that, five million Americans showed up this version, seven plus million.

1:17.1

That's a trend line that you pay attention to.

1:19.9

There's something that's moving in the country.

1:21.8

So I'm not going to sit there and count the colors of the skin of the people who are there or not there.

1:26.3

But what I am going to pay attention to is that as I get ready for the next cycle,

1:31.3

which begins in two weeks with the elections that the governor referred to in Virginia and New Jersey,

1:37.3

that's where it's going to matter the turnout of the African American community community, which after the Kamala Harris thing,

1:49.1

turned into a real, real bad situation in the way it was handled internally within the party,

1:56.0

the way it was handled externally in a number of communities.

...

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