Poll: Democrats Deeply Divided on Biden's Handling of Gaza War, Campus Protests - Can Trump Capitalize?
Around 3,000 years ago, the Jewish King Solomon pointed out that splitting the baby doesn’t benefit anyone.
President Joe Biden has recently been learning the same hard lesson due to his inability to firmly take a side in the Israel-Gaza war.
By trying to avoid alienating either pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian factions within his coalition, Biden has earned criticism from both camps.
Biden has received scathing criticism from some far-left members of his party, including members of the very vocal “squad.”
Meanwhile, Jewish Democrat lawmakers like Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Becca Balint of Vermont and Sara Jacobs of California have faced intense backlash from all sides — progressives who believe they haven’t gone far enough in calling for an Israeli ceasefire, and pro-Israel centrists who accuse them of not being supportive enough of the Jewish state, according to CNN.
🔥🚨BREAKING NEWS: There is currently a terrifying insurrection outside the DNC headquarters in Washington.
Far-left pro-Palestine rioter are fighting with police as they attempt to breach the headquarters.
This is truly horrifying, I fear for the safety of those Democrats. pic.twitter.com/ASPDaqxLdV
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) November 16, 2023
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken between May 7 and May 14 revealed that a significant 44 percent of Democratic registered voters disapprove of Biden’s response to the war, according to Reuters.
The poll surveyed 3,934 U.S. adults nationwide, including 3,208 registered voters. (It reported a margin of error of 2 percentage points for all registered voters, 3 points for registered Republicans and Democrats and 4 points for independents.)
The numbers point to potential defections that could be costly for Biden. Among Democrats who disapprove of his Gaza policy, only 77 percent say they would still vote for him against Trump in November, compared to 93 percent of those who back his approach.
Trump has been actively courting dissatisfied Democratic factions like Jewish and young voters who take issue with Biden’s performance. He is making a particular play for Jewish supporters by contrasting his unchanged backing of Israel, including moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, with what he portrays as Biden’s weak and wavering stance, Reuters reported.
The poll also showed that 33 percent of Democrats agree that pro-Palestinian protests over Gaza reflect antisemitic views — a demographic Trump is clearly aiming to capitalize on.
At the same time, 38 percent of Democrats back the protests, revealing the divisions plaguing Biden over the conflict.
🛑 Biden tanks approval with Democrats over Israel support
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals deep divisions among Democrats regarding President Biden’s handling of the Gaza conflict and related campus protests.
Approximately 44% of Democratic voters disapprove of Biden’s… pic.twitter.com/qZbnLg7y34
— Geo-Political Update (@Hyacinthedml) May 16, 2024
After reviewing the results of the poll, Douglas Schoen, a pollster and strategist, called the issue of the Israel-Hamas war a “stone-cold loser for Biden,” adding, “He’s losing votes from the left, right, and center.
Schoen pointed to key battleground states like Michigan, where there is a large pro-Palestinian Arab American population, as a state that Biden could potentially lose in the 2024 election.
On the other hand, last month, a liberal Jewish rabbi from New York, which has a large Jewish population, sent a warning to Democrats about the rising anti-Semitism he said he was seeing within the party and warning Biden that he should not be confident of the Jewish vote, according to Fox News.
“Do not take American Jews for granted,” Rabbi Ammi Hirsch warned while speaking at The Free Synagogue on the west side of New York City. “I have spoken with so many American Jews in the past few months who have surprised me with their anxiety about developments in the Democratic Party and their perception that it is becoming increasingly hostile to Israel and increasingly tolerant of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in its own ranks. Be careful. The results of the upcoming election do not only depend on Michigan,” he said.
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue to Dem Party leaders:
“Do not take American Jews for granted… Be careful: The results of the upcoming elections do not only depend on Michigan.” https://t.co/CtNoVPoTp0 pic.twitter.com/71kzrIrj8r
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) April 15, 2024
While Kenneth Wald, who studies the Jewish American vote at the University of Florida, told Reuters he was doubtful that the Jewish vote would swing in Trump’s direction, Sam Markstein, political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said that Jewish support for the Republican party has been rising since 2016.
That lack of a clear Democratic consensus on the Israel-Hamas conflict gives Trump an opening to cast himself as the trusted friend to Israel that Biden is not.
For Trump, Biden’s struggles straddling the divide between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian Democrats create promising opportunities to shave off chunks of his 2020 coalition in key battlegrounds.
Biden’s decision to split the baby has resulted in anger on both sides, and the Trump team is well aware of the opportunity.
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