President Barack Obama addressed one of the weak points of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign during an appearance Wednesday.
"I'm going to be honest with you right now. The Latino vote is up. The overall vote is up. But the African-American vote, right now, is not as solid as it needs to be," Obama said during an interview on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show," The Hill reports.
According to The New York Times, early voting among African-Americans lagged behind the high levels in the 2012 election. Obama blamed new restrictions on early voting for the reduction.
"I need everyone to understand that everything we've done is dependent on me being able to pass the baton to somebody who believes in the same things I do," the president said.
"If you really care about my presidency and what we've accomplished, then you are going to go and vote," he continued, adding that African-Americans should alert friends and relatives that the Obamas "personally asked you to vote."
"It's not that hard, and I know it's not that hard because we've done it before."
Obama cited Donald Trump's opinion on the Central Park Five case in 1989, where five non-white men had their convictions for assault and rape vacated when another man confessed for the crime.
According to The Hill, Trump ran ads at that point urging for the death penalty to return and that the five men should remain locked up.
"This is the guy who is suddenly going to help folks get fair treatment in the criminal justice system?" Obama asked.
"If I hear activists or any young people out there talking about how, 'Well you know, there ain't no difference and nothing is going to change' — No."
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