More polls have been released, and that means more bad news for President Joe Biden. That includes polls from NBC News and Fox News, with the former being particularly telling when it comes to how the headline from NBC chalks it up to the Israel-Hamas war. As Townhall has covered ever since the October 7 terrorist attack, polls show that Americans overall support Israel, but that that support is dwindling, and that support from Democrats and young people is particularly lacking.
"President Joe Biden’s approval rating has declined to the lowest level of his presidency — 40% — as strong majorities of all voters disapprove of his handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll," the write-up began by mentioning. While just 40 percent approve of how Biden is handling his presidency, 57 percent disapprove.
To be sure, young people weren't only quoted discussing what support Biden has had for Israel, but it was still mentioned, with the write-up noting that the 70 percent of those voters ages 18 to 34 who disapprove of Biden's handling of the war is a "whopping" figure.
Other findings mentioned include how a plurality, at 47 percent, believe that "Israel is defending its interests and their military actions are justified," while 30 percent say Israel's response is "has gone too far and their military actions are NOT justified."
There has been intense scrutiny in the way that Israel has conducted its military campaign to fight back against Hamas following the October 7 terrorist attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians. It was the bloodiest day in the country's history, with the most Jews killed in a single day since the end of the Holocaust. Hamas indiscriminately targeted men, women, and children. Not even babies or Holocaust survivors were spared. Hamas also engaged in rape, torture, and kidnapping.
Last Monday, Townhall attended a screening that showed footage from October 7. At 43 minutes long, it was less than 10 percent of the total footage.
In his remarks before the footage was shown, Eliav Benjamin, the Deputy Head of Mission to the Embassy of Israel, discussed "a time of determination," specifically "a time when Israel is striking against one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world and fighting a just war, not on Israel's behalf and not just on the behalf of the Jewish people, but on behalf of the free world." Benjamin also spoke to how "I don't believe Israel should be apologizing for anything it is doing now, on the contrary. It is our obligation to take care of our people."
The poll's write-up also noted how a majority of Democratic voters, at 51 percent, believe Israel has gone too far, while just 27 percent of these respondents say the military actions are justified. Further, while 55 percent support military aid to Israel, 49 percent of Democrats are opposed.
Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, one of those who conducted the survey, is quoted as pointing to not what the results mean for Biden, but how he can win them back:
“Joe Biden is at a uniquely low point in his presidency, and a significant part of this, especially within the Biden coalition, is due to how Americans are viewing his foreign policy actions,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.
McInturff said he can’t recall another time when foreign affairs not involving U.S. troops transformed the American political landscape.
“This poll is a stunner, and it’s stunning because of the impact the Israel-Hamas war is having on Biden,” he said.
But Horwitt cautioned that Biden can bring these disaffected Democrats and younger voters back into the fold. “These are people who have a proven track record in voting for Biden and Democrats,” he said.
And, he added, there’s plenty of time — and more potential political surprises to come — between now and Election Day 2024, which could see the political landscape transform again.
“Jury verdicts in Trump’s trials, unforeseen events both foreign and domestic, and the rigors of a campaign all have a funny way of upending what may be true today,” Horwitt said.
It's worth wondering what that will take, though. Will Biden give up on Israel? His administration has already announced aid to Gaza, despite how it could be intercepted by Hamas, as well as renewed a waiver on sanctions so as to grant funding to Iran via purchases from Iraq. This is despite how Iran supported Hamas in the October 7 terrorist attack perpetrated against Israel.
The poll was conducted November 10-14 with 1,000 registered voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
There are also reports of Democrats now demanding that aid to Israel be conditioned, despite how every Senate Democrats and many House Democrats haven't even approved such aid yet. While a standalone bill providing aid and paid for with IRS funding cuts passed the House with bipartisan support, Senate Democrats have blocked the bill multiple times. Biden has also threatened to veto such a bill if it's not tied to funding Ukraine.
As we've also covered, Muslim voters, especially in swing states like Michigan, as well as White House staffers have been critical of the administration's response to Israel for some time, especially when it comes to a lack of making it about 'both sides' and concerns about showing enough care and concern for Palestinians. Whether Biden kowtows to anti-Israeli or even pro-Hamas voters will certainly be a factor to watch for the 2024 election.
Anti-Zionist, leftist groups like IfNotNow have taken advantage of the poll's results to continue to call for a ceasefire. As Townhall has covered, such groups have far-left donors, and have been among those who took over the Cannon House building last month and the DNC headquarters last week.
Propaganda works. https://t.co/kgfJi2ejBB
— Chad Felix Greene 🇮🇱 (@chadfelixg) November 20, 2023