Last Friday, Dearborn, Michigan, saw a rally that looked more like one you would see in Iran rather than the United States, as angry residents chanted "death to America" and "death to Israel." A couple of months ago, an opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal profiled the city as "America's Jihad Capital," highlighting, "Imams and politicians in the Michigan city side with Hamas against Israel and Iran against the U.S." During Tuesday's White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to address the matter.
Fox News's Jacqui Heinrich brought up the chants, asking, "Does the president condemn that?" Jean-Pierre said he did.
When Heinrich wanted to know if President Joe Biden is concerned that Dearborn may be becoming "a hotbed of any sort of homegrown threats," the press secretary, unsurprisingly, responded, "I don't have any intelligence to share with you on that."
"Obviously, that's something that we're always very vigilant about, but don't have any national intelligence to share with you," she continued. "But, obviously, we will condemn any violent rhetoric," Jean-Pierre added while not only speaking over Heinrich but revealing how the condemnation was more of a generic one over "any violent rhetoric."
As the back-and-forth continued, Heinrich asked "Would we be seeing a statement" since it was "a pretty significant display." Jean-Pierre made clear her response looks to be about all we're going to get from the White House.
Recommended
"I mean, you're hearing from me, right? You're asking me a question. I'm answering it, and we've been very vigilant about or very consistent about denouncing that type of rhetoric," she offered.
Jean-Pierre then said, "I do want to be very clear about, you know, peaceful protest is something that the president has also been very, very clear that is important to give folks space to peacefully protest, but any type of violent rhetoric, we are going to denounce," raising questions as to why she felt the need to mention "peaceful protest" in the context of people shouting "death to America" and "death to Israel."
KJP on the "Death to America" chants in Dearborn, Michigan:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 9, 2024
"Obviously, we will condemn any violent rhetoric, which we have been...we're very consistent about denouncing that type of rhetoric." pic.twitter.com/0McvpdiFPg
Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates had something of a better response in his statement to The Daily Caller. "The White House condemns these abhorrent and Antisemitic remarks in the strongest terms. As President Biden has said, America is the greatest nation on Earth and a beacon to the world," he told the outlet.
The protests took place as part of International Al-Quds Day, which was declared by Iran's Imam Khomeini, as shared by activist Tarek Bazzi. "This is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America," he went on to say, leading to such chants.
It's worth mentioning that when The Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Steven Stalinsky, the executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, was published, we did see a response from the president via his official X account just a few days later.
Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 4, 2024
That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town.
We must continue to condemn hate in all forms.
Jean-Pierre isn't the only one who had a generic condemnation over this "violent rhetoric" of "death to America" and "death to Israel" chants.
As Brett T. at our sister site Twitchy highlighted, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud posted on Monday afternoon his condemnation, calling the chants "unacceptable and contrary to the heart of this city."
"We reject all inflammatory and violent statements made at the gathering," he stated. "Dearborn is a city of proud Americans; the hateful rhetoric heard on Friday does not reflect the opinion of the members of this community."
"The Dearborn community stands for peace and justice for all people. We are proud to call this city and this country home," he concluded.
Over the weekend, video emerged of a rally in Dearborn where some attendees were chanting statements that were unacceptable and contrary to the heart of this city. We reject all inflammatory and violent statements made at the gathering.
— Abdullah H. Hammoud (@AHammoudMI) April 8, 2024
Dearborn is a city of proud Americans; the…
There were almost 1,000 replies to Hammoud's post, with users suggesting they believe otherwise.
Reporting from the Daily Mail reveals Bazzi isn't just some nobody in Dearborn. He's a teacher and a pastor:
The preacher, who has taught in private Islamic schools in Michigan after being educated in the US public school system, also appears to support terror in the fight against Israel and its allies.
...
Bazzi, who is affiliated with Dearborn-based Muslim youth education organization the Hadi Institute, said that there would be 'a price to pay' for victory, adding: 'Blood must be spilled, martyrdom must be sought after. Resistance is necessary in any way necessary.'
He told the crowds: 'You cannot stand up against the satanic, imperialist forces of the world if you're scared of them.
'The most that they can do is to kill us and that is martyrdom in the way of Allah.'
Bazzi also indicated his support for Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist group by the US, saying they were being 'targeted' simply for supporting Palestine.
He described American presidents as 'satanic puppets'.
While Jean-Pierre and the mayor were willing to provide lip service with their condemnations, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) couldn't be bothered to post any such thing to either of her X accounts. And she has posted from her official account since then. She hasn't posted from her personal account in months. Ironically enough, the most recent post from early last November is when she shared a digital ad she was featured in claiming "Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people" and that "the American people are not with you on this one."
The ad even more chillingly featured footage of pro-Hamas protests from around the country, which included pro-genocidal chants of "from the river to the sea." Where were these terrorist sympathizers chanting as much? In Dearborn, which is part of Tlaib's district.
Tlaib was not long after censured by a bipartisan vote for defending the pro-genocide phrase, as well as doubling down on anti-Israel falsehoods.
As Leah covered earlier this week, Fox News's "The Five" co-host Greg Gutfeld addressed how Dearborn is one of the "places that were sacrificed to leftism," aptly adding, "We are on a slow roll toward our own little Gazas." Most fitting of all, though, he raised how "leftism encourages this sort of behavior."
While Fox News addressed the alarming display of support for terrorists, NewsBusters revealed how "Networks HIDE 'Death To Israel And America' Chants on American Soil."
The use of "from the river to the sea" in Dearborn wasn't a one-time thing in the weeks after the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel. The NewsBusters report mentioned how there was plenty more than just "death to America" chants:
...It wasn’t just the casual anti-American and anti-Israel expression. There was also the reference to “Genocide Joe”, the denunciations of Israel as “ISIS”, “Nazis”, “fascists” and “racists”. And finally, the indoctrination of children into this cult of hatred. Specifically, the child aged no more than 4 leading the crowd in “From the River to the Sea” and “Free, Free Palestine” chants.
Bringing this back to the White House, what makes its condemnation curious, even if it had no choice but to provide such a statement, is that the Biden reelection campaign truly is worried about losing these far-left, anti-Israel voters in places like Michigan.
Earlier Wednesday, Tara Servatius discussed on "The Tara Show" how "Democrats Court 'Death to America' Vote."
Brett T. pointed out in his piece, "We're assuming the person speaking in this video is a legal immigrant, probably from Iran, meaning he willingly came to live in the most rotten country on earth. 'Genocide Joe' Biden is really hoping for his vote."
The virulently anti-Israel Abandon Biden effort has claimed victory in many key states. Biden won Michigan's Democratic Primary on February 28, and he's won all states and territories thus far, except America Samoa. He earned enough delegates last month to be the presumptive nominee. Yet in Michigan alone, over 101,000 voters selected "uncommitted." And, as Matt covered on Tuesday night, "The Pro-Hamas Wing of the Democratic Party Secures Enough Votes to Send Delegates to the DNC."
The November election and the Chicago DNC in August will truly be a sight to see, as many wonder if pro-Israel Democrats, and anti-Israel, pro-Hamas voters who have previously supported the Democratic Party come home.
As it stands, former and potentially future President Donald Trump looks like he has a real chance at winning, though it looks to be a very close race. He's currently up +0.2 against Biden, according to RealClearPolling. In Michigan, Trump has an edge of +2.8 against Biden.
