- President Joe Biden's support for Israel has sparked anger among Arab and Muslim Americans in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamast terrorist attack.
- Michigan, a presidential battleground state, has the largest Muslim population in the country, and Biden won there by just 154,000 votes in 2020.
- “Our goal is to punish Joe Biden, make him a one-term president, and use his defeat in Gaza as the It's about linking it to the shame of genocide,” he told the Daily Caller News Foundation. .
President Joe Biden's support for Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamast terrorist attack could cost him Michigan, a battleground state with a large Muslim and Arab-American population disappointed with President Biden's handling of the Gaza war. be.
Biden administration official met On Thursday, he met with local politicians, activists and faith leaders in Dearborn, Michigan, an Arab-American heartland, to allay doubts about Biden's handling of the conflict. crowd Pro-Palestinian protesters. Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war has angered Michigan's Muslim community and could narrow his chances of winning the state. Safe The difference in 2020 was just 154,000 votes, local advocates and political strategists told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The majority of the community will not support Biden, so he has already lost the state,” Nasser Beydoun, director and former president of the Arab American Civil Rights League, told DCNF. “Last time he won, he won with the unanimous support of our community. And he made promises when he was here that were never fulfilled, and I don't know how he's going to dig himself out of this hole now that he's putting genocide down.”
An overwhelming majority of Muslim voters supported Biden last time, with a 69% approval rating, making it clear that they would leave the country. poll The results of a study commissioned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group that opposes funding to Israel, have been revealed. In Michigan, Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by nearly 40 points in Wayne County, which includes the large cities of Dearborn and the Detroit metropolitan area.
Michigan has the second largest population of people who claim Middle Eastern or North African ancestry, with approximately 310,000 residents. according to to the U.S. Census Bureau. This state has Number 2 largest population of Arab Americans, make Dearborn increased by 54%; Estimation There are 242,000 Muslim Americans.
Who is Beidun? running The Democratic primary for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat in 2024 is encouraging local residents to vote for “no-commitment” options in the state's Feb. 27 battleground primary. , “Just to show Biden that we have the numbers to beat them,” he told DCNF. (Related article: Left-wing Muslims abandon Biden as too pro-Israel)
“Then we'll see how this administration reacts. By November they think we'll be forgotten and take concrete steps to end the genocide, rebuild the country and establish a Palestinian state.” “Our job is to make sure that Biden is not the next president of the United States,” Beydoun said.
Activists form 'Abandon Biden' motion After the war started in Gaza after the president failed to call for a ceasefire. The effort is being rolled out in several presidential battleground states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, to encourage Muslim voters not to re-elect Biden.
Democrat Samraa Lukman, co-chair of Michigan's “Abandon Biden” campaign, told DCNF there is virtually nothing the president can do to right the ship heading into November.
Lukman told DCNF: “If he can bring back to life all 30,000 people who have died so far, we will discuss Biden's next re-election.” “And it's not just my feelings, it's not just my personal feelings. It's really, really the entire population of Michigan, the entire community, feeling the same way.”
The “Abandon Biden” campaign is not recommending that the community vote for anyone in particular, whether it's a third party, Trump, a write-in candidate, or a “non-commit” option. , encouraging people to vote for someone other than Biden instead. said Lukman.
“We're working on all kinds of strategies, and we're really pushing voters. If your motive is to write 'Free Palestine,' by all means, go for it. Flip message to Republicans. If you're motivated to send a message, by all means, do so. If you want to send a message using “uncommitted”, just do it. Unless they come out and vote for Biden,” Lukman told DCNF. “If that meant he lost Michigan State, I would be very proud of the job we did.”
— Hassan Chami (@Hasschami) February 3, 2024
There are about 200,000 registered Muslim voters in the battleground state, and about 145,000 in the 2020 election, according to the Michigan chapter of Emgage, a group aimed at mobilizing Muslim-American voters. voted.
Jason Cabell Roe, a Michigan-based Republican consultant, emphasized the importance of the referendum after the president narrowly won the state in 2020.
“I think he has serious problems with Arabs and Muslims,” Low told DCNF. “And there are some third-party candidates who at least fully support the two-state solution and are certainly pro-Palestinian in the biggest ways. So they could siphon those votes away from Biden. I think otherwise, you'll see a lot of voters sitting idle.”
Cornel West is currently running as the Justice for All party's presidential candidate. vocal In support of Palestine Since then The war has begun and continues to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who many believe was responsible for Hillary Clinton's defeat in several battleground states in 2016. deadly war and launched “Pledge to stop genocide.”
Adolph Mongo, a Michigan-based Democratic strategist, said he still believes Biden has an “advantage” in the battleground state, but argued that “Democrats are in trouble.”
“Some polls show that the president has some problems. One is the Arab community. I'm not surprised that he went to Israel and kissed Prime Minister Netanyahu. That will anger a lot of people,” Mongo told DCNF. “Sooner or later, they have to pull Israel back from what they are doing. They have the right to protect themselves, but they do not have the right to continue bombing and killing innocent civilians.”
“Democrats need to step up their campaign messaging or they will fall from office like Hillary did in 2016,” Mongo added.
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents Michigan's 12th Congressional District, also said: blackmailed He will refrain from supporting Biden in 2024 because of his support for Israel. The congressman received widespread backlash for using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” which many say calls for the complete removal of the state of Israel.
Wayne 12th Congressional District Republican Committee Vice Chair Stephanie Butler, who lives in Dearborn and is married to a Muslim, said “it would take a miracle” for Biden to regain standing with the community. told.
“Biden is done. There's zero chance he'll win back the Arabs,” Butler said. “They call him 'Massacre Joe'. That's his name here.”
Early January Target Insight/Michigan Information Research Service poll Biden won 73% of Michigan's Democratic primary voters, followed by self-help author Marianne Williamson with 9% and Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips with 3%. Williamson has since Paused her presidential campaign.
In the general election rematch between Trump and Biden in battleground states, the former president take the lead RealClearPolitics averages a 5-point difference.
“Our goal is to punish Joe Biden, make him a one-term president, and link his defeat to the shame of the genocide in Gaza,” said Michigan's co-director of the Abandon Biden campaign. Democratic Party member Khalid Thulani told DCNF.
The Biden campaign did not respond to DCNF's request for comment.
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