The Voters Willing to Abandon Biden Over Gaza

okay Salam alikum everyone my name is. Mona Mai and I think it's so inspiring. that we have uh people from so many. different professions and Paths of life. and ethnicities joining us here today to. do the phone banking we really want to. send a strong message using our voting. power to let Biden know that we strongly. reject his aiding and abetting and. funding of the genocide and War in. Gazza from the New York times I'm.

Sabrina Tavern and this is the daily. this is abdan hammed I'm calling from. Michigan hi this is Ian with the. Michigan uncommitted campaign and we. want to cease fire in Gaza now is this. Hussein in the past few weeks activists. in Michigan began calling voters in the. state asking them to protest President. Biden's support for Israel by not voting. for him in the Democratic primary are. you planning to vote in the Democratic. primary because we are asking folks to. vote uncommitted Michigan has one of the.

largest Arab American populations in the. country and the activists are trying to. turn its anger over Gaza into a. political force Biden is not listening. to us so this is the right time to give. him message before the general election. okay one that could be decisive in this. critical swing state where winning in. November will likely be a matter of the. slimmest of margins you are going to be. voting uncommitted okay amazing I'm so. happy we are on the same page free. Palestine that's right great and could.

you ask three of your friends to do that. as well yeah today my colleague Jennifer. Medina on how Israel's war in Gaza is. changing politics in. Michigan it's Tuesday February. 27th so Jenny the Democratic Primary in. Michigan is today and it's an election. that typically wouldn't matter very much. right I mean Joe Biden of course is the. incumbent and he's already pretty much. sealed the deal to be the nominee so why.

are you covering it yes it's true that a. primary with an incumbent president is. typically pretty unimportant and there's. normally a low turnout and even in this. primary Joe Biden is absolutely expected. to win and so there's a little surprise. most of the time but this year we have. this whole new wild factor and that's. the war in Gaza and the war has created. enormous anger in a state like Michigan. where there are tens of thousands of.

Voters potentially looking for a way to. voice their anger in the primary. election so enormous anger at the war in. Gaza in a state like Michigan so tell me. about that what is it about Michigan so. Michigan is this interesting State first. of all it's been a swing state for a. very long time but also in the context. of the war in Gaza it's really. interesting because of the. demographics Michigan has one of the. largest Arab American populations in the. country we're talking something in the. ballpark of 200,000 Arab Americans and.

that's a group of people who have been. angry with us policy toward Israel for. decades but because of the war in Gaza. it's something totally different it's. bringing anger to the four like never. before yeah and it's not just Arab. Americans who are angry right it's. become a central issue for Democrats on. the left as the war in Gaza has raged on. and the death toll has risen we've seen. more and more people speak out against. Biden for supporting Israel and they've.

begun to threaten to withhold their vote. for him because of that support and. we've seen this Coalition led by Arab. American voters in Detroit begin to. concentrate their anger on the Michigan. primary and they're asking a few. different things some organizers are. telling voters that they should check an. uncommitted box on the primary ballot. essentially saying none of the above and. other people urge voters to write in. free Palestine or free Gaza and there's. lots of different ways they could.

protest but there's a group that really. coalesces around this idea of. uncommitted and the bottom line for them. is they want to send a message to Biden. saying if he doesn't change policy he. will have a real problem on his hands. for the election in November right okay. so speaking of November let's play this. out here let's say nothing changes after. the primary what happens if these same. voters don't support Biden in the. general election in November I think 's. no question it would be a huge problem.

for Biden arab-americans are a group of. Voters that have largely supported. Democrats in the past and it's pretty. unlikely that a majority of them would. move to Trump but more realistically. it's definitely possible that they just. sit out the election or vote for a third. party candidate and in a state like. Michigan that would be a huge deal with. huge consequences Biden won in 2020 with. only roughly 150,000 votes and in 2016.

Clinton lost by just 11,000 votes if. even a portion of arab-american Voters. decide not to vote for Biden it could. have huge consequences for the state and. even the country wow so huge Stakes yes. and the question really becomes how big. is this movement and how deep does that. anger. run oh there it is wow I know oh it's. right next to a.

so I went to Detroit along with. producers ASA Chini and CLA tennis. gutter to really understand how this. strategy was resonating in the Arab. American Community were those Rank and. file voters really rallying around this. effort this urge to register their anger. by voting against Biden at The Ballot. Box we are outside at the Islamic Center. of Detroit where they are about to start. noon prayers.

so we started with going to a mosque for. Friday. prayers and this is just outside of. Dearborn in Detroit and there are. hundreds of people gathered there for. noon Friday prayers La shenny. hi and we met up with a woman Latifa. Jamal don't vote for Biden who was. handing out flyers urging people to. abandon. Biden not to vote for Biden who going to. for vot no.

okay and the level of frustration not. I'm not voting for that and dismay no. nobody and betrayal so what Biden no was. just clearly evident that's not to vote. for Biden yeah I know like I'm in the. group oh in the group and of the roughly. 50 or so people we heard. from I love only one person said that he. was sticking with Biden wow I love Biden.

I know after we were doing in G I'm. sorry about it this is a way did you. vote for him in 2020 I. did almost everyone we heard from. outside the mosque said they voted for. Biden in 2020 but now said they weren't. so sure is there anything he could do to. gain back your vote so when we asked. people what Biden could do to win back. their vote of course stop this massacre. many said ceasefire at a minimum I I. don't think so unless he goes send the.

Army and create a Palestinian State and. reimburse all every Palestinian but many. said they wanted more we know how Biden. has reacted in a situation now we can't. think about what if for me at least I. can't say by and stand that I need to. get him. [Music]. out so Jenny I guess you know listening. to you talk to people it feels a little. tricky to me because the us obviously. you know is an important and Powerful. Ally of Israel but it is a separate.

country from Israel so I guess I'm. wondering you know how the people you. were talking to process that I mean. Biden is fundamentally not the boss of. Netanyahu you know the US doesn't have. the power to actually stop the war and. stop the bombing I think for many of. these voters it's not all that. complicated they see this through the. lens of us support for Israel not just. support of the war now but also so. Decades of policy of billions of dollars.

of Aid going toward Israel that Aid is. mostly. unconditional and even though in recent. weeks you've seen Biden shift his. rhetoric a little bit he spoke from the. White House calling Israel's reaction. over the top these voters see that. rhetoric as basically empty and they see. nothing short of a fundamental policy. shift as enough and what has the Biden. Administration been saying saying in the. face of this criticism I mean has Biden.

responded I think his administration has. tried they've sent White House officials. and foreign policy officials to do. listening sessions where they kind of. apologize and express regret for some of. the past actions basically saying they. should have done more to indicate that. they value Palestinian lives and then. just this weekend Democrat rokana a. congressman from California went and. tried to sort of Step In unofficially.

for the Biden campaign and try to sort. of reassure voters but I don't know that. any of that has done much reassuring at. all because the level of anger that they. have just goes beyond wanting to be. heard they don't think listening is. enough and they want to see action okay. so it's clear from your reporting that a. lot of people are very upset with Biden. but I guess that raises the question. about the alternative about Trump I mean. this is the president who brought the. country the Muslim ban as we remember.

from the early days of his term and you. know it's also the guy who broke with. years of American tradition on where the. US Embassy in Israel should be based I. mean he moved it to Jerusalem from Tel. aiv so the question in my mind is do you. think at the end of the day Jenny you. know when all of these voters are. staring at their options that they'll. ultimately just hold their nose and vote. for Biden so there's really two groups. of. people.

there's the people who are voting and. focus on today on voting uncommitted and. registering a threat and are leaving. open the possibility of going back to. Biden come. November but then there's a whole. another group of people and it's a large. group of people who are already saying. forget it I'm done I'm definitely not. going to vote for Biden in. November they understand the stakes they. understand the consequences and still. still they've made up their.

[Music]. [Music]. mind we'll be right. [Music]. back.

so Jenny you said that you talked to. democratic voters in Michigan who said. that they were not going to vote for. Biden really no matter what despite the. prospect of trump how did they talk. about. that so I went to speak with a longtime. Democrat and Palestinian American. activists who lives in the suburbs of. Detroit hi hello her name is ter a she. is 67 years old and she lives with her.

husband Bob Morris and their dog JV. JV and almost from the moment you walk. in their home it becomes clear that. being a Democrat is a central part of. her identity this is a Obama's book it's. clear from the books that she has on her. coffee table my husband with President. Kennedy and his. father it's clear from the walls of. photos that she and Bob have which is.

just a sort of who's who in Democratic. politics stretching back decades really. kept on and as you see President Bill. Clinton at the time you call it a wall. of politicians but they're all Democrats. Democrats we don't have really yeah we. always V for the best person they just. happen to be. Democrats I voted Republic and we sat. down in their dining room sir can you. just start by telling us a a little bit. about your childhood what life was like.

where you. were. so I grew up in rala which is west of. Jerusalem and Terry told us about. growing up in rala in the West Bank and. she said it was basically a calm happy. childhood until she was about 10 years. old and that's what I call introduction. to hell and that's in 1967 the Arab. Israeli War broke out and Terry's family. and neighbors sheltered together in her. house we ended up with 30 people in our.

basement and it's a very small basement. and all of a sudden the bomb starts you. know the scream starts and all of a. sudden and it just kind of like boom. boom boom and then the radio and then. people start praying and then they were. crowded together in that basement as. tanks rolled. in there's no way to describe the horror.

that you see the the crying the. smell the fear oh after the war Terry's. parents grew really anxious about her. and her sister's safety So eventually. they were sent to live with her uncle in. the suburbs of Detroit Michigan and when. she gets there she got a job in a local. restaurant she eventually graduates from. high school and then after just a few. years she falls into politics basically. by accident a Democrat asks her if she.

wants to volunteer for a candidate. running for the state house and almost. immediately she just but I stuffed. envelope like my life dependent on it I. will come in and they say you want to. come in at 5:00 in the morning and lick. stamps I would come in at 5:00 in the. morning Lick's a sucker boor. every at this point Terry throws herself. head first into politics she's. volunteering on local elections and. she's also getting involved with.

national Democratic politics um so I was. one of the first people there pushed for. Bill Clinton worked on his campaign I. was working my regular job and working. basically after 5 till whenever 11:00. 12:00 whatever to get Bill Clinton. elected and what's she trying to. accomplish with these campaigns I think. it's two things on the local level she. recognizes the immediacy of government.

in action to create real change in her. own backyard and then I think with some. of these more National campaigns she's. really hoping to push for change for. Palestinians and influence the. Democratic party's foreign policy so I a. believer that you cannot just stand on. the. outside and scream why don't you work. within the system and within the system. things will change mhm and then like. many Democrats she's really shocked when.

Trump wins and enters. office horror horror tell me about that. I look at Trump and I tremble with fear. she's horrified the day he gets elected. the day he got elected I really could. not she's shocked by the Muslim ban I. was just petrified you know that my. nephew whose name is Muhammad is going. to be injured because of all the hate. that is directed at she's horrified by.

the decision to move the American. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem just. when you think he cannot get any lower. he gets lower so when 2020 comes around. after Biden becomes the Democratic. nominee Terry spends a lot of time and. effort calling up friends and family. members and acquaintances trying to. convince them to show up and vote for. Biden and the presidential election and. then I just said let's work and start. convincing all all the people that were.

in opposition so what was that pitch. give me the pitch that you gave to. people at that time it's either Biden or. Trump and Trump is hates. Muslim hates Arab hate. everybody if you're not white you're not. going to be a person that is going to be. represented and it's so it was not that. Biden is a quality it's there is a bad. and terrible we don't want the terrible.

it's not that she's this huge Biden. supporter but when Biden becomes the. Democratic notman she supports him and. when he announces he's going to run. again in 2024 she still supports him but. then October 7th. happens right and so for Terry she. immediately thinks back to her. experience in. 1967 and anticipates what she thinks. will be an aggressive Israeli response. immediately after I knew knew because I. live through what Israel does when when.

the Palestinian perpetrate violence I. knew there was going to be hell to be. paid and Jenny does Terry talk about the. role of Hamas in this War I mean the. fact that Hamas perpetrated this violent. attack on Israel on October 7th so Terry. kept talking about how she really thinks. of herself as a pacifist and so I asked. her about this pacifist does any of you. any part of you put the blame on.

Hamas yes because they used they used. violence so yes but to me the question. that I would ask should the Palestinian. indigenous people of that land do they. have the right to defend themselves and. she said quite clearly that she. disagrees with the use of violence but. it's also clear that she feels quite. conflicted and really sees Palestinians. as in an impossible position if you are.

the. desperate person in Gaza who have no. options what would you. do that's and then as the weeks and the. war dragged on and Israel continued its. bombardment she really became very angry. with her own country with Biden's. response to the. war every human being's life matter but. he de finished the tragedy of.

Palestinian by him going and embracing. Netanyahu almost immediately she's. really enraged by Biden's decision to. fly to Israel very quickly to embrace. Netanyahu and to offer basically. unequivocal support for the War I kept. saying he will. self-correct somebody or the policy. makers will change but she tries to be. patient and she sort of has this. expectation that Biden is going to.

change his mind or withdraw some support. and and as the time went. by it got even worse and as it becomes. more and more clear that that's not. going to happen everything Israel wants. they. [Music]. get what does that say that my life does. it matter she really begins to think. that's it I can't vote for him not in. the primary and not in.

November you want my vote you cannot. kill my people in my. name as simple as. [Music]. that how do you wrestle with the fact. that that decision could help Trump. win it's a very hard. decision but it is not me who's putting. Trump in.

place it's the president. himself I'm not at. fault that people like me are not going. to vote for him it's his policy and his. action so don't put the blame on me put. it on him he knows that my vote will be. for him if his actions are different and. so is that me basically.

saying I demand more of my leaders yeah. why. not I mean you're saying look this isn't. my fault this isn't it's not because of. me Biden should change is there anything. that you think that Trump is going to do. better for Palestinians I have. zero confidence in Trump. period there's not one iota of anything.

I want from Trump I want him to go away. but I am sad for our. country that we do not have viable. alternatives on both sides but it's the. system that we have yes it's the only. system that we have and it's a system. that you participated in yes. enthusiastically for decades absolutely. so I have two bad candidates. so what is my alternative I don't have.

Alternatives I am not represented I know. I'm in a place where I am going nowhere. that's how hopeless would I. stand Jenny it's really striking that. you know four years ago Terry looked at. this exact same choice and felt pretty. clear that to her Trump was a worse. option than Biden I mean so much so that. she campaigned for Biden right but now. she looks at the two and sees them as.

equally bad options like that's a pretty. remarkable shift not least because you. know these are two very different. leaders when it comes to the Palestinian. issue Trump is much closer to the. Netanyahu government and a whole range. of things things that she'd probably be. pretty opposed to so how does she SN. that in her mind I think for Terry she. really sees not that much difference. between Biden and Trump she sees this as. sort of subtleties that don't matter in.

the long run because of what's happening. in Gaza this person hates me this person. want me killed that's all what it is but. Terry understands that not everybody. sees it that way and that's clear even. in her own conversations with her. husband Bob and it's worth noting here. that Bob's family is Jewish but he says. there's really no daylight between him. and Terry on the Israeli Palestinian. conflict and maybe the only thing they. disagree about is the role of President.

Biden and then Bob and I we talked MH. and so they remembered this fight they. had on the drive back home from. Thanksgiving with Bob's family we're. driving on the freeway leaving DC and. what trigger it is something on the. radio and they said. Biden and Palestine at the same. time I think Biden was saying something. about compassion and they say they heard.

someone say something about Biden but in. the. meantime he was doing things with Gaza. and I kind of like I basically said to. Bob I just. don't understand how horrible of a human. being he is and I said and Terry. remembers just erupting he's such a. hypocrite and I was probably saying you. you know the Supreme Court and Trump you.

know or something else and I don't buy. it anymore and I don't and then he blew. up and Bob remembers getting really. emotional I just had a breakdown I said. I just can't take it. anymore and and I mean when I say I had. a breakdown I'm driving the damn car and. uh and I'm I'm starting to cry and. what's going through your mind T.

Bob there's nobody I love more on this. Earth than. Terry but if I say anything I'm a bad. guy and Terry understood she felt really. bad we're 95% on everything except he. sees Biden via the prism of the Supreme. Court I'm looking at at it from the. prison of Palestine I mean it sounds.

like you're saying you're already seeing. things crumble and you're saying this is. our last chance before things Crum well. to be fair I wanted Biden to run I did. want him to be a one- termer you did yes. uhhuh I wanted him I truly thought he. could be a guy who's writes the ship and. in some ways he has Biden did get. successful. legislation passed in a bipartisan way.

and some of his legislation is really. good but um he wasn't as good as I had. hoped but why do you why will you stick. with. him Donald Trump I mean I am very. concerned about our. democracy I. think it is entirely. possible the Democrats could win the. house and the Senate and the presidency. this time and that can make a big big.

difference in terms of how we can make. some positive changes and that's a hope. I guess I'm a a short-term pessimist and. a long-term Optimist you know so he see. things and I see I see potential he. doesn't he sees okay this is our system. this is how it's always been I'm looking. at it it's about time to really fix the. system that we have it's a system that's. not working for the majority of American.

we are not represented but it sounds. like what you're saying is the system is. already broken and the only way to fix. it is. to break it more no um I don't believe. in Breaking I I believe in. building the destruction is not my. intention. here I mean I cannot tell you how sad. and disheartening. that I have to do this because that is.

the last thing I want to do to basically. say I know I told you the last time. Biden is not the best but he is not. Trump and please please vote for. him and now I'm telling you refrain. because. maybe maybe they would start seeing us. as a human being deserving. of a living Terry really sees this.

election in very Stark terms it's not. just about November it's about the. future of her party but when it comes to. the future of her party she's basically. a single isue voter right I mean the. Supreme Court climate change those. things just don't matter to her as much. as this other issue the Palestinian. issue and she's willing to risk all of. that in this election for that. issue right though I think Terry would.

turn that right around and say that it's. President Biden who is taking the risk. here from her perspective he is the one. who is willing to lose the election over. his continued support for. [Music]. Israel I am conflicted to the. tilt. but uh my.

political. engagement my being in the system is not. as important to me as saving the. children that are. dying I. know Terry thank you so so much really. pleasure Mee you thank you thank you so. much Terry really app oh I.

appr so Jenny it really seems like the. fight that Terry and Bob are having you. know this conflict inside their marriage. is a lot like what's happening inside. the Democratic party right now I mean. these are the battle lines right and the. question is what does this mean for the. election like how many terries and how. many Bobs are there out there whose view. is going to Prevail who's going to win. exactly we really don't know and the.

Michigan primary is really the first. test of all of this the organizers of. the uncommitted campaign say they're. hoping for something like 10,000 votes. which is roughly how much Clinton lost. the state by but that's actually quite a. small number because we've always seen. some percentage of uncommitted in a. Michigan primary so for this to really. make an impact for it really to worry. the Biden White House we'd probably need. to see something with tens of thousands.

of votes and Michigan is not the only. place we're going to see this play out. there will be similar debates I think in. Georgia in Pennsylvania maybe even other. swing. States and really no matter what happens. regardless of whether terries or the. bobbs Prevail in this election the truth. is the fight in the Democratic party is. really just beginning this is going to. have a profound impact on the party.

younger voters attitudes towards Israel. is very different and they are becoming. a bigger voting Force so the politics. are changing and that has the potential. to really reshape America's decades long. foreign policy in the Middle. East Jenny thank you thank you so. [Music]. much.

we'll be right. back here's what else you need to know. today Mr chief justice and may it please. the court on Monday the Supreme Court. heard arguments in two First Amendment. cases challenging laws in Florida and. Texas which aim to limit company ability. to moderate content on their platforms.

the platforms do not have a First. Amendment right to apply their. censorship policies in an inconsistent. Manner and to censor and deplatform. certain users I welcome your questions. lawyers for the states defended the laws. saying that big internet companies and. the platforms they run are essentially. public forums and therefore should not. be allowed to discriminate based on. political views for example a against. conservative speech it interferes with. editorial discretion it compels speech.

it discriminates on the basis of. content speaker and Viewpoint lawyers. for the tech companies that own the. social media sites say that it is. unconstitutional under the First. Amendment to force companies to publish. views against their will the cases are. likely to shape the future of speech on. the internet rulings are likely to come. this spring. and Manhattan prosecutors on Monday.

asked a judge to approve a gag order. seeking to stop former president Donald. Trump from attacking Witnesses or. exposing jurors identities in a case. involving hush money Trump allegedly. paid to a porn. star the order would be the latest in a. series of gag orders imposed on the. former president Mr Trump's lawyers are. likely to appeal. the case is scheduled to go to trial on.

March. 25th today's episode was produced by AA. chatra Clare tennis Jessica Chung summer. tamod with help from Sydney Harper it. was edited by Devin Taylor with help. from Mark George Rachel quer and Ben. Calhoun fact checked by Susan Lee. contains original music by Marian Lozano. Dan Powell and Rowan Nimo and was. engineered by Alyssa.

Moxley special thanks to Maddie Mello. and Chris Wood our theme music is by Jim. brunberg and Ben lansberg of. [Music]. wonderly that's it for the daily I'm. Sabrina Tavern see you tomorrow.

[Music].