'Abandon Biden': Muslim movement seeks to derail the president's re-election bid in undecided states
Activists from nine states gathered in Michigan to kick off the campaign and accused the president of supporting what they call "genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza."
Imagen de archivo de una manifestación pro-Palestina frente a la Casa Blanca ()
"Muslims and Arab-Americans have come together to send a clear signal to this White House: this upcoming election will be decided by the people of America, Muslim Americans in particular." With those words, organizer Hassan Addesalan officially launched the "Abandon Biden" movement.
Members of Muslim communities from nine states gathered Saturday in Michigan, "the capital of Muslim America," to kick off the campaign that seeks to rally voters who profess Islam around the same message: "The position of the Biden Administration … is a red line for all Muslim Americans".
The organizers explained that the list of states where they will carry out their mission are especially sensitive for Biden, because they include undecided states and states with significant Muslim minorities. The weekend event was attended by activists from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada.
"The blood of Palestinian children is a red line and we will do all we can to ensure Biden is a one term President as a consequence of his enabling of genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza," wrote the lawyer from Tampa, Fla., Hassan Shibly, who participated in the event at the Hampton Inn in Dearborn, Mich.
The launch of the movement was accompanied by a campaign on social networks with the hashtag #AbandonBiden, which became, at times, one of the most-trending topics Saturday.
Hitting where it hurts
Although the latest polls project the president as the winner of the Democratic Party primaries, the margin of his defeat in a possible rematch with Donald Trump is increasing.
Biden's campaign team disdains the recent polls. Although they have not commented on Abandon Biden, the movement could hurt his re-election efforts in two key areas: swing states and the Muslim vote.
An Emerson College poll earlier this month placed the former president ahead of the current president in four of the six key swing states. In Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, Trump leads. Activists from all of those states attended Abandon Biden Day this Saturday. In the remaining two, Michigan, where the Democrat leads, and Wisconsin, where they are tied, campaigns will also be held.
In a Morning Consult poll, Trump takes each of these states except Michigan. Other polls, from Lake Research Partners and NBC News, shows that only 16% of Muslim Democrats support Biden in Michigan.
In 2020, the CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) assured that 69% of Muslims chose Biden, while 17% opted for Trump. Some senior CAIR officials participated in the launch of Abandon Biden. The Arab American Institute placed the percentage of support for Biden that year at 59%. By the end of October (the first month of the war), the number dropped to 17%.
"This poll marks the first time in our 26 years of polling Arab American voters in which a majority did not claim to prefer the Democratic Party," says the Arab American Institute study. Thirty-two percent opted for the Republicans and just 23% for the Democrats.
Abandon Biden assures that their negative campaign against the president should not be understood as support for his main opponent. They made it clear that they do not support Trump. They did not rule out, however, supporting another candidacy later on.
"What Mr. Biden should see is 111 electoral votes," said Hassan Abdel Salam, a professor at the University of Minnesota, during Saturday's meeting in words reported by The New York Post.
Discontentment among Democrats
The launch of Abandon Biden is the latest instance of a slew of backlash against the Democratic Party from its Muslim and leftist bases for its support for Israel. This same weekend, Rep. Adam Smith's home was vandalized with graffiti reading "Free Gaza," "Ceasefire now!" and "Baby killer."
Biden's own residence in Delaware also attracted pro-Palestine protesters last month, while at the White House, activists were seen jumping the security fence and painting walls with red handprints. Likewise, the California Democratic Party had to temporarily suspend a day of events after protesters shouting “in November we'll remember,” in reference to the 2024 elections and rioting at the convention building.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) also threatened Biden that if he did not change his stance on the war, saying that "the American people will not forget."
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