‘We’re Not Supporting Him’: Arab Americans Wash Their Hands of Biden
In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, President Joe Biden is increasingly finding himself losing support with Arab Americans as they express they won’t support his reelection. Amid already dwindling…
In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, President Joe Biden is increasingly finding himself losing support with Arab Americans as they express they won’t support his reelection.
Amid already dwindling support, Biden is risking losing support from Arab American and Muslim American voters as he continues to support Israel in the war against Hamas, according to Axios. This comes as states with large Arab American and Muslim American communities such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia previously helped Biden secure his win over former President Donald Trump.
“Unless Biden turns into Jesus Christ and brings some Palestinians back from the dead, we’re not supporting him,” Osama Siblani, the publisher of The Arab American News told the outlet. “It’s over.”
Siblani continued to clarify that he was “telling Arab Americans not to vote for the top two candidates” on the ballot.
“Vote down-ballot, but don’t vote for Biden, and especially not for Trump,” Siblani added. “Biden lost our vote, and you’re going to see Michigan and Georgia change.”
In Michigan, which has a reported Arab American population of 278,000, Biden won by 154,000 votes over Trump. Meanwhile, in a state such as Georgia where the Arab American population is reported to be roughly 57,000, Biden won by 11,800 votes.
Even as Biden has attempted to combat rising Islamophobia in the United States as the Israel and Hamas conflict continues and met with Arab American leaders, support for him among the Arab American and Muslim American communities has dwindled.
The Arab American Institute (AAI) notes that while 59% of Arab Americans supported Biden in 2020, this number has decreased significantly in recent weeks, according to the AAI’s own polling.
In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center between Nov. 1-21, 59% of people expressed disapproval of Biden’s job as president, while 37% approved.
When asked how they felt about Biden’s handling of the situation in the Middle East between the Israelis and Palestinians, 64% disapproved, while 32% approved.
This comes as several polls have previously shown that Biden is losing ground with young voters, another group that Biden had received a fair amount of support from in 2020.