Tipsheet

Biden Campaign Is Getting a Loud and Clear Message From Voters on His Campaign's TikTok Account

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  February 21, 2024 8:30 AM

President Biden can’t escape the hordes of Democrat voters angry over his position in the Israel-Hamas war, whether in person at campaign events or online. After recently launching a TikTok account to reach young voters, every one of the campaign's videos posted thus far has been “flooded with notes about Gaza, airstrikes on Rafah and Palestinians who’ve been caught in the crossfire of the…war,” NBC reports. 

While the report was sure to emphasize that online commenters aren’t necessarily representative of the American electorate, in this case it is picking up on a real issue the Biden campaign has on its hands: the discontent among young voters and Arab Americans is very real. 

The latest NBC News poll of registered voters showed that only 15% of respondents ages 18-34 approve of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The number was even smaller among young voters who use TikTok, one potential reason the Biden campaign has chosen to engage on the platform.

For Jeannie Niusulu, 43, a stay-at-home mother of eight from Aurora, Colorado, online protest is her way of communicating her frustration to the Biden administration. […]

“I didn’t do it for any other reason than I hope maybe we are heard,” said Niusulu, who became involved in social activism following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. 

Niusulu, who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, says the president is losing her support in 2024 over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. 

“I just can’t in good conscience vote for that,” she said. […]

For Rania Ayyoub, a 35-year-old Palestinian American who commented, “What do you have to say about Rafah?” on a recent Biden TikTok, nothing Biden does can ever regain her vote. 

“It’s past the point of no return,” said Ayyoub, who not only voted for Biden in 2020 but worked in her community in Phoenix to convince others to do the same in battleground Arizona. (NBC)