Joe Biden faces a fire trial this Tuesday in Michigan. A group of voters from the left wing of the Democratic Party, framed by the “Our Revolution” organizations founded by the senator. Bernie Sanders— and Listen to Michigan want to use the Democratic primary in that state as a vehicle to express their dissatisfaction with the White House’s position on Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has already claimed more than 30,000 lives, according to updated reports There have been deaths, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Several liberal activists and Arab American leaders who tipped the scales for Biden in Michigan’s 2020 election have called on the Democratic base to concede a “disengaged” vote in the primaries, the equivalent of a blank vote. The goal is to reach 10% of all ballots cast.
The Biden campaign will calibrate the results based on the support generated by both platforms. It could be a reminder that the president cannot take for granted the support of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in his campaign for re-election in November.
“President Biden funded the bombs that are being dropped on people’s families here in Michigan.” “Thousands of Michigan Democrats who voted for Biden in 2020 now feel completely betrayed,” he said. Layla Elabed, campaign director for Listen to Michigan, told the Financial Times. The organizations are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanding that the Biden administration stop funding Israel.
Michigan is one of the swing states, a purple state that is always controversial and has been decided by narrow majorities in recent election cycles. Biden defeated Donald Trump in this state in 2020 by just 150,000 votes Donald Trump defeated there Hillary Clinton four years earlier for fewer than 11,000 ballots.
According to the latest census data, just over half of the people living in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, the state’s largest city, are Arab Americans, and about 140,000 Arab Americans voted in Michigan in the 2020 presidential election.
The name of the Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, whose congressional district includes much of Dearborn, is among those encouraging Democrats to vote in protest. “Today I was proud to go in and receive a Democratic ballot and vote without obligation. “If 74% of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire and President Biden still won’t listen to us, this is one way we can use our democracy to say, listen,” he noted on social media.
The current occupant of the White House has always considered himself a staunch ally of Israel. In fact, the president has admitted multiple times that he is a Zionist and that “you don’t have to be a Jew” to be one. In recent weeks he has been increasingly critical of the Israeli prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he never had a good relationship. Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister, Anthony Blinken, and other senior officials in his government have also criticized Israel for the death toll in Gaza. But it has not withdrawn its diplomatic support from the Israeli government.
Recent polls put Trump ahead of Biden in a hypothetical confrontation in Michigan. The Democratic leader’s campaign has spent little time in the state compared to South Carolina and other key primary seats. He last visited Michigan on February 1 to meet with auto workers. For their part, Republican voters in Michigan will also have the opportunity to vote this Tuesday in a primary in which Trump is expected to face his only rival, Nikki Haley.
