President Joe Biden‘s union-focused campaign trip to blue-collar Michigan on Thursday was overshadowed by news and controversy surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.
Biden trekked to the state, one of five he flipped from former President Donald Trump to win the presidency four years ago, hoping to plug his recent United Auto Workers endorsement.
“To me, it’s a basic, basic thing, and I mean this sincerely,” he told a gathering of union members while surrounded by posters spelling out “UAW 4 JOE.” “Wall Street didn’t build the middle class. Labor built the middle class, and the middle class built the country.”
But outside of the event, the day’s news was dominated by protests and a new executive order signed by Biden that sanctions some Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Later, as Biden arrived for a meeting with local UAW members, pro-Palestinian protesters could be seen waving flags and chanting “Genocide Joe” and “How many kids have you killed today,” according to pool reports.
Earlier in the day, Washington, D.C.’s streets were blocked by pro-Palestinian protesters as Biden attended the National Prayer Breakfast. At that event, the president acknowledged the pain felt on both sides of the conflict.
“I also see the trauma, the death and destruction in Israel and Gaza,” he said. “I understand the pain and passion felt by so many here in America and around the world. We value and pray for the lives taken and for the families left behind. For all of those who are living in dire circumstances, innocent men, women, and children held hostage or under bombardment or displaced, not knowing where their next meal will come front, or if it will come at all.”
Once in Michigan, Biden visited a restaurant in a Detroit suburb and met with black faith leaders in addition to his UAW appearance with the union’s president, Shawn Fain.
Reporters were found in Michigan too, with some 200 waiting outside the union stop and at least one banner reading “Genocide Joe.”
But reporters on the trip peppered Biden’s press team with questions about Israel and Gaza. One question was whether Biden risked alienating the 300,000 Arab-American residents of Michigan, who could cost him the presidency if they don’t support him with their votes in November.
“The president has met with Americans with varying opinions about the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “Officials at the White House are in regular contact with Muslim and Arab-American leaders in Michigan and across the country.”
The press secretary added that senior Biden administration officials will travel to Michigan later in February to meet with community leaders about the conflict.
While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), both of Michigan’s U.S. senators, and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) flew aboard Air Force One with Biden, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress, did not. Jean-Pierre explained that typically, the House member whose district the president is visiting flies with him.
“We understand how difficult this is for many different communities around this time as we’re seeing what’s happening in the Middle East, more specifically with Israel and Hamas,” Jean-Pierre said. “We understand; we get that. I’m not going to get into — we don’t speak to every private conversation that the president has with members of Congress.”
The executive order issued by Biden on Thursday hands down sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank who commit acts of violence against Palestinians, barring them from financial transactions and in some cases from entering the United States. It was widely seen as a nod to Democrats who have protested against Israel’s actions since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the conflict.
Yet the administration has retained its generally pro-Israel stance.
“We have to remember that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” Jean-Pierre said, “and what they do is they embed themselves in infrastructure where folks live.”
Winning the Midwest was always going to be crucial for Biden in his quest to remain in the White House for another four years, and the Israel issue adds a new wrinkle to that challenge.
A Detroit News poll last month showed Biden trailing Trump by 8 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup. By contrast, a poll from the same outlet conducted in January 2020 had Biden ahead of Trump by 7 points.
The UAW endorsed Biden last week, ending one of the last remaining major union holdouts to back his campaign, though Trump continues to attack Fain by labeling him a “weapon of mass destruction on auto workers and the automobile manufacturing industry.”
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Despite Trump’s attacks and the lingering question about Arab American support, Fain vowed to do everything it takes to see Biden to victory.
“We’re going to fight like hell,” he said, “and we’re going to ensure Joe Biden is the next president.”
