Black voters shaken by Biden's handling of war on Gaza: WaPo
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The Washington Post reports that there is evidence the same alliance that elected Joe Biden into power is now fragmenting.
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Joe Biden speaks to Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) at a primary election night rally in 2020. (AP)
Some Black Americans have questioned if current President Joe Biden deserves reelection over his handling of the war on Gaza, which has entered its 7th month, The Washington Post reported.
The Post conducted interviews with opinion leaders and activists in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state where Biden won by slightly more than 80,000 votes including a 4-to-1 margin in disproportionately Black Philadelphia. However, there is evidence that the alliance that elected him is fragmenting.
The war has already influenced the decisions of many, overshadowing domestic worries like the economy, inflation, and crime. Others argue that the war, which has already killed nearly 34,000 Palestinians and drove millions to famine, mimics past disasters affecting people of color — and that Biden's support for what they regard as a moral calamity should have electoral implications.
Biden will be spending most of this week in Pennsylvania and demonstrators chanted against him on Tuesday, "Biden Biden, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide," and, "Welcome home, Scranton Joe; make sure Gazans have a home also." Demonstrators also yelled at Biden as he was visiting his childhood home.
Rev. Mark Tyler, the senior pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, who is planning to attend the Democratic National Convention this summer expressed that he wants Biden to "get it right because it’s right," noting that the war in Gaza has an impact on Black voters in particular, because they "connect with this story in a way that maybe other Americans cannot — it would be a mistake to think that it won’t be a problem going into November."
In several states, Muslims and Arab Americans have organized movements urging people to vote "uncommitted" in the Democratic primaries.
The campaign started with the "shoestring" campaign, through which over 100,000 voters in Michigan cast their ballots for "uncommitted", in a clear message against Biden's re-election relaying that the votes he is counting on are not ones he would obtain due to his Gaza policy. States like Washington, Minnesota, and Wisconsin rode the bandwagon soon after.
For seven months, activists in Philadelphia have been fueling a similar campaign ahead of Pennsylvania's Democratic primary on April 23. They argue that "Israel's" aggression is similar to earlier forms of racist tyranny that necessitated a worldwide moral reaction, such as Jim Crow in the American South and apartheid in South Africa.
Biden has emphasized the importance of Black voters in re-electing him to the presidency, and recent surveys show decreased support since 2020.
The Washington Post previously reported that Democrats are becoming increasingly concerned about a reduction in Black voter turnout in the upcoming 2024 election.
Last month, Biden ran a pair of advertisements last month geared at Black voters in battleground areas, emphasizing his administration's pandemic relief checks and its successful campaign to set insulin prices at $35 per month.
Melina Abdullah, who recently became the running mate of third-party presidential candidate Cornel West, expressed, “I think there’s a recognition that neither the Democrats nor Republicans are really representing our interests. They’re not representing Black interests. They’re not representing the interests of poor and working-class folks."
In 2015, she and fellow Black Lives Matter founders published a declaration of support for Palestinians. “We don’t have to take a lesser-of-two-evils approach,” she expressed.
“Lesser of two evils is still evil.”
