Senior officials in the Biden administration are being deployed “to Michigan on Thursday to meet with Arab-American and Muslim leaders” in the swing state as the war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas continues to splinter the left, according to the Associated Press.
The visit also comes as President Joe Biden is vulnerable in the Wolverine State and trails former President Donald Trump in several Michigan polls published in recent months.
The Associated Press was the first to report on Thursday’s impending meeting, citing three sources familiar with the plans. At the gathering, Biden aides will be met with a hard push by some to call for a cease-fire in the war, which began after Hamas murdered more than 1,200 Israelis in terrorist attacks carried out on October 7. At least three officials — U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer, and Office of Public Engagement Director Stephen Benjamin — will represent the Biden administration at the meeting.
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“‘I’m going into that room and making it clear that the frustrations are that a cease-fire needs to be called,’ said Michigan state Rep. Alabas Farhat, adding that there also needs to be a release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel,” noted the AP’s Tamer Madhani, Joey Cappelletti, and Seung Min Kim.
Farhat, a Democrat, represents Dearborn County, where at least ten Arab leaders opted not to attend a scheduled meeting with Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez in January, the outlet noted at the time. The New York Times reported Thursday’s meeting will occur in Dearborn County.
“Farhat said he expected Thursday’s meeting to be the first in a series and ‘a new channel being opened up directly to the White House.’ While the meetings are a step forward, Farhat said, ‘it’s not a substitute for a cease-fire or policy change,’” the AP noted.
On the day of Hamas’s attacks, Biden emphasized, “Israel has the right to defend itself,” a sentiment that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed as recently as January 26. However, during that appearance on CNN’s This Morning, Jean-Pierre claimed Israelis were “lowering their intensity” in the fight against Hamas in Gaza “because of conversations” Biden has had with Israel. Her remarks underscore the tightrope the administration is maneuvering to appeal to both pro-Israel and anti-Israel Democrats.
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Joel PollakMoreover, in his formal aid request to Congress in October, in which he sought to bundle aid to Israel with aid to Ukraine and Taiwan, Biden asked for $14 billion in military support for Israel, as UPI noted — which is obviously in conflict with the calls for a cease-fire from many in his party, including prominent far-left members of Congress.
Meanwhile, anti-Israel protestors have made multiple visits to the White House, and a far-left demonstration outside of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, turned violent and reportedly sparked concerns about the potential for similar demonstrations at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, in the summer.
The meeting takes place as Biden trails Trump by an average of 5.1 points in the Wolverine State in the Real Clear Polling average as of Thursday, marking a worrying sign for the president, who won the state by some 154,000 votes in 2020. Notably, the Muslim vote in Michigan helped propel Biden to the White House after it went red for Trump in 2016, per the AP, and the demographic will have a significant hand in deciding who wins the state in November.
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