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Senator Raphael Warnock has responded to former President Barack Obama's comments about black men's support for Kamala Harris after the former president sparked something of a controversy on the left this week.

The former president appealed directly to Black male voters at Harris's campaign rally in Pittsburgh, pointing to national and state polls that show a decline in Black support for Democrats in 2024 compared to previous election cycles – including his own.

“My understanding, based on reports I'm getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kind of energy and participation in all areas of our neighborhoods and communities as we did when I was a candidate,” he said.

He added: “Part of it makes me think – and I speak directly to men – part of it makes me think that you just don't feel like you have a woman as president and that you're coming along.” other alternatives and other reasons for doing so.”

On Sunday, Warnock said he doubted the poll was accurate when it came to how black voters, and particularly black men, would vote in November.

“This idea that large numbers of black men are going to vote for Donald Trump is not going to come true,” Warnock said on CNN State of the Union.

Instead, he said the real danger was a lack of voter enthusiasm, not wavering political support for the Democratic Party.

Regarding Obama's comments, Warnock remarked directly: “I have a lot of respect for President Obama, and he didn't talk to all black men. He’s talked to guys we’re talking about sitting on the sidelines.”

Warnock may well be right in his prediction; A CBS News national poll released Sunday found that the percentage of Black voters who said they would vote Democratic in this year's presidential election matched the overall percentage won by Joe Biden in 2020.

Biden also remains a mystery; While some polls had shown Harris underperforming her former running mate's overall results among black men in 2020, the incumbent president's age had already contributed to a decline in his support among black voters, from which Harris is already at least partially recovering has.

Polls continue to show the race deadlocked both nationally and in several swing states. Polls show the two candidates separated by low single digits in more than half a dozen states.