US President Joe Biden’s heavily criticized performance in the recent debate with former President Donald Trump has heightened concerns among Democrats about his chances in the upcoming election.
The reality is, however, that Biden’s vulnerabilities were evident long before the debate. His struggle to secure broad support became apparent during the primary elections, significantly influenced by the #AbandonBiden movement, which urged Democrats to retract their support in critical swing states.
This movement led to a substantial loss of Arab and Muslim votes for Biden in states such as Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Georgia, New Jersey, and Nevada. Without regaining this support, Biden’s reelection prospects were bleak.
Biden’s significant announcement on Monday to withdraw from the presidential race and not seek a second term brings the focus to the influential role Arab and Muslim American voters will play in the election.
Without the backing of Arab and Muslim Americans, Biden would have likely lost these key states, even if they didn’t switch their votes to Trump but chose a third-party candidate like Dr. Jill Stein, who is a progressive Jewish independent opposing Israel’s government and advocating for a two-state solution for Palestinians.
The media and politicians, however, have largely ignored this critical factor, focusing instead on Biden’s lackluster debate performance, neglecting the pivotal impact of the Arab and Muslim electorate.
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Arabs and Muslims represent some of the most marginalized voter groups in America, often overlooked by mainstream media and the political landscape.
This marginalization was starkly evident following the brutal Hamas violence against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Tel Aviv used the violence, part of a broader pattern of conflict between Hamas and Israel, to justify actions that many see as ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s Christian and Muslim Palestinians, aiming to annex the valuable coastal territory.
The Biden administration’s failure to leverage its influence to restrain Israel’s aggressive response resulted in significant casualties — estimates range from 39,000 to 186,000 Gazans killed — and devastated the lives and homes of over 1.5 million people.
Early demands for a ceasefire to prevent further deaths were ignored by the Biden administration, causing significant anger among Arab and Muslim Americans. This discontent significantly harmed Biden’s chances in the swing state primaries, where many chose to vote for alternative candidates or left their ballots blank.
With Biden out of the race, some Democrats are advocating for Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. Biden’s endorsement of Harris and her subsequent announcement to run has not resonated well with Arab and Muslim voters, who see Harris as aligned with Biden’s policies, including her silence on the ceasefire issue.
Potential candidates expected to challenge for the presidency include third-party independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sen. Joe Manchin, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and former Democratic contender Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Regardless of who the Democrats rally around, no candidate can secure the White House without addressing the concerns of Arab and Muslim voters, demonstrated by their powerful turnout in the primary elections.
A major shift in American foreign policy toward Palestine, Israel, and the Middle East is essential if the Democrats hope to win the upcoming election.
