On Feb. 1, President Joe Biden visited Michigan union autoworkers to consolidate support among unionized working-class Americans. This visitation is one step in Biden’s effort to secure a second victory in Michigan in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
The visit is important because support from the working class will be significant in determining which candidate Michigan chooses for president. Former President Donald Trump won Michigan by 0.3% in 2016 while Biden won Michigan by 2.8% in 2020. It is likely that each candidate’s perception as pro-working class played a role in both candidate’s respective victories.
Biden met with United Auto Workers (UAW) workers and Union President Shawn Fain, who recently had a significant victory for unions in their strike against the Detroit “Big Three” automotive companies: Stellantis, Ford and General Motors. The strike secured major victories for union workers.
Biden previously appeared and voiced support for union workers during the UAW strikes. Even since then, the UAW has made it clear their intentions to support Biden throughout his 2024 presidential campaign.
“Wall Street didn’t build the middle class. Labor built the middle class, and the middle class built the country,” Biden said when speaking to UAW workers.
A tweet from the official Democrats Twitter account, on the same day as Biden’s meeting with union workers, encapsulates Biden’s commitment to being the pro-labor and union candidate for working-class people in Michigan and the rest of the country.
While Biden has successfully garnered the support of many unions and working-class people, Biden has struggled significantly with gaining the support of Arab and Muslim Americans in recent months. On the same day, Biden met Michigan union workers, he was met with protests from Arab and Muslim Michiganders who strongly opposed Biden’s unconditional support of Israel in their invasion of Gaza.
Ever since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent invasion of Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. As of now, Biden and his administration have done little to dissuade Israel’s escalatory actions, which has caused many individuals to refuse to support Biden in the 2024 election.
Abed Hammoud is a Dearborn attorney and former federal prosecutor who helped to establish the Arab America Political Action Committee in 1997. Hammoud has been vocal in his opposition to Biden.
“I’ve always voted Democrat,” Hammoud said. “But there is no way Biden is going to get my vote. It’s not going to happen because Biden is complicit in genocide, Biden is complicit in a war that makes no sense. He should just stop this war.”
This is a sentiment shared by many Arab Americans, especially those in Michigan, and it could cost Biden a victory in Michigan. Arab Americans in Michigan make up about 5% of votes in Michigan which is far more than the margins that either Biden or Trump have won Michigan by in the past.
It appears that many protestors hope their voting power can sway Biden to force a ceasefire from Israel and potentially end the war.
While Arab Americans fed up with Biden’s actions regarding Israel have made it clear that none of them have any intentions of voting for Trump, the loss of their support could cost Biden a victory in Michigan. So far, Biden seems intent on avoiding the issue of support among Arab and Muslim Americans dropping in the hopes that support will rebound near the election. However, the current direction of support among these demographics suggests this might not happen.
