Biden sends aides to Michigan to avoid public anger over war on Gaza
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Voters in Michigan, a battleground state, have grown frustrated over Biden's complicity in the war on Gaza, and some have vowed not to reelect the President.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march during a visit by US President Joe Biden in Warren, Michigan, February 1, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden is sending several senior advisors to Michigan to meet with Arab American and Muslim leaders, as members of a critical battleground state grow more frustrated over the war on Gaza and the current administration's complicity, anonymous sources revealed to the Associated Press.
In late January, Sky News reported that around 50 cities in the United States have ratified resolutions asking for a ceasefire in Gaza, with at least 14 passing in key swing states like Michigan, piling up more pressure on President Joe Biden.
Samantha Power, the president of the US Agency for International Development, Jon Finer, the Principal Deputy National Security Advisor, and Steven Benjamin, the director of the Office of Public Engagement, will attend Thursday's meeting, according to a White House official.
Tom Perez, the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, is also anticipated to attend, as are Mazen Basrawi, the White House liaison to American Muslim groups, and aides Jamie Citron and Dan Koh.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden's campaign manager, and other campaign officials visited suburban Detroit late last month but were turned down by many neighborhood leaders.
Other community activists have gone even further in their criticism of the President's handling of the war, forming an organization called "Abandon Biden", which aims to discourage people from backing him in November.
The US role in the war on Gaza is not limited to American voters. There have been consequences in global public opinion, particularly in Arab countries. In Egypt, the US witnessed a shift from a positive favorability of 41.1 to a negative favorability of -14.9. A similar trend occurred in Saudi Arabia, where the US dropped from a positive favorability of 12.2 to -10.5 during the same period.
Days ago, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that half of US adults say that the Israeli genocide in Gaza has “gone too far” as a result of mainly growing disapproval among Republicans and political independents.
In the wider sense, the poll shows support for "Israel" and the Biden administration’s involvement in the genocide is gradually decreasing as only 31% of US adults approve of Biden’s actions regarding the genocide, including just 46% of Democrats, in contrast with the previous support for "Israel' after October 7.
In late January, protesters yelled "Genocide Joe has to go," interrupting him at least 10 times as he spoke in a Manassas, Virginia, rally, which marked his first public campaigning event in the new year, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden struggled to begin and proceed with his speech but managed to throw in a remark, as he dismissed demonstrators, saying, "This is going to go on for a while. They’ve got this planned.”
