Muslim voters’ anger over Gaza war threatens to derail Joe Biden

Thousands of Michigan Democrat voters will mark their ballot papers ‘Uncommitted’ in protest.

Joe Biden appears with Seth Meyers in New York. Picture: AFP

President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza has provoked a furious backlash from voters before Tuesday’s (Wednesday AEDT) Democrat primary ballot in Michigan, which could threaten his grip on the battleground state and with it the White House.

Led by Arab-American and left-wing groups, thousands of Michigan voters will mark their ballot papers “Uncommitted” in protest at Mr Biden’s refusal to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, where the Palestinian death toll is said to be nearly 30,000. Many have warned that unless Mr Biden changes course, they will not vote in November’s presidential election, potentially throwing open the state for Donald Trump.

Muslim voters were critical to Mr Biden’s victory in Michigan in 2020, flipping the swing state after Mr Trump won it in 2016. In 2020, 145,000 Muslims voted, 70 per cent of them for Mr Biden.

At Mr Biden’s request, Michigan was promoted up the Democrat primary election calendar before the 2024 campaign. The move was intended to send an early statement that the multiracial, multifaith coalition that carried Mr Biden to the White House in 2020 remained as strong as ever. Instead, his support in the state is in danger of coming apart.

When the President visited unionised car workers in Michigan this month, he was pursued by protesters chanting “Genocide Joe” and “How many kids have you killed today?”.

Ahmad Ghanim, a spokesman for Listen to Michigan, the activist group leading the protest campaign, said Mr Biden had lost the community in Dearborn – a suburb of Detroit and home to the largest Muslim community in the US – “at a fundamental level”. Although Mr Biden’s victory in the primary is assured, Mr Ghanim added, the protest was intended to send a message that unless the President changes course on Gaza, Michigan voters will stay home in November.

“The only thing that will make him change is if he thinks that he will lose power,” Mr Ghanim said. “Michigan is a vital state for Biden. If he loses Michigan, he will lose everything.”

In Dearborn, grief and fury have been growing for months. The town is scattered with mosques, Muslim community centres and restaurants serving cuisine from across the Islamic world. Many there have family ties to the Palestinian territories. Some have lost relatives in the onslaught on Gaza and say they are ready to abandon Mr Biden altogether.

The Uncommitted campaign has drawn support from prominent voices in Mr Biden’s party, including Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. “Right now, we feel completely neglected, neglected and just unseen by our government,” Ms Tlaib said last week.

Abdullah Hammoud, the Democrat Mayor of Dearborn, has said his community feels “betrayed” by Mr Biden. “Dearborn does not sleep. We have not slept. Our entire city is haunted by the images, videos and stories streaming out of Gaza,” Mr Hammoud wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times.

Belatedly, the Biden campaign has woken up to the trouble brewing in Michigan and the danger protests will spread to other battleground states that will decide the presidential election. The White House dispatched senior officials to Dearborn to meet Arab-American leaders this month.

Mr Biden has signalled his frustration with Israel, criticising the bombardment of Gaza as “indiscriminate”. But those gestures have done little to mollify voters in Dearborn.

Mr Biden recorded in New York on Monday an interview with late-night TV comic Seth Meyers – who regularly targets Mr Trump. The 81-year-old President has been criticised for doing few media interviews or press conferences since coming to office.

Mr Biden again ducked the traditional presidential Super Bowl TV interview this month, instead making his debut on TikTok to try to target younger audiences. He has given interviews to YouTube stars and podcasters while President, as well as making occasional appearances on friendly TV shows.

“Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the show, and then vice-president Biden appeared on its first episode in February 2014,” the White House said.

THE TIMES