President Biden’s support among the Muslim-American community may take a hit in 2024 over his position in Israel’s war against Hamas.
During a conference in Detroit on Saturday, a group swing state Muslim community leaders vowed to “abandon Biden” for refusing to demand a ceasefire.
“The anger in our community is beyond belief. One of the things that made us even more angry is the fact that most of us actually voted for President Biden,” one of the conference organizers, Jaylani Hussein, told the Associated Press. “I even had one incident where a religious leader asked me, ‘How do I get my 2020 ballot so I can destroy it?’”
NEW: Muslim leaders from swing states have gathered in Dearborn, Michigan to launch a nationwide campaign to “Abandon Biden.”
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 3, 2023
The announcement from these Muslim leaders came in response to Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war
“We are announcing that President Biden has lost… pic.twitter.com/TDf0LSXlFO
Democrats in Michigan have already sounded the alarm about the electoral consequences of Biden's handling of the war.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were critical components of the “blue wall” of states that Biden returned to the Democratic column, helping him win the White House in 2020. About 3.45 million Americans identify as Muslim, or 1.1% of the country’s population, and the demographic tends to lean Democratic, according to Pew Research Center.
But leaders said Saturday that the community’s support for Biden has vanished as more Palestinian men, women and children are killed in Gaza.
“We are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don’t only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself,” Hussein said at the conference.
According to AP VoteCast, Muslim voters supported Biden over former President Trump in 2020, 64 percent to 35 percent.
While they're angry with Biden, that doesn't necessarily translate into Trump picking up their support.
“We don’t have two options. We have many options. And we’re going to exercise that,” Hussein said.