Michigan Democrats are acknowledging political damage for President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects with Muslim Americans in their state. But they’re also wondering whether those voters would abandon the president in favor of Donald Trump.
A push to #AbandonBiden was launched by swing-state Muslim American leaders in Dearborn, Mich., last weekend, as community leaders threatened to abandon the Democratic incumbent over his handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
“It’s hard to unring that bell when, the first couple of weeks after Oct. 7, I don’t think the community felt that they were hearing what they wanted to hear” from Biden, said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), who conceded any defections in a state like Michigan “that can go either way” is “something to be concerned about.”
Biden carried the state by a little more than 150,000 votes in 2020, out of a 5.54 million votes cast. There were 206,000 registered Muslim voters in the state during the 2020 elections, according to Emgage, a national nonprofit that works to engage Muslims politically. Trump carried the state by approximately 10,000 votes during the 2016 election.
“So they want Donald Trump?” asked an exasperated Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), whose district neighbors Dearborn. “This is a man who’s called them vermin and has said that he would ban them.”
Most Michigan Democrats acknowledged the fear and frustration surrounding Biden’s handling of the Middle East conflict among the Muslim American community — even as they weren’t sure the anger would carry through to an election still almost a year away.
“I very much appreciate their fear and anger and concern about what’s happening. I do believe that President Biden and his team are working 24 hours a day trying to do as much as they can to end the bloodshed and bring constituents home,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) in an interview.
As to how much it would matter in the presidential contest in her state, Stabenow said, “We’ll have to see where all of this lands in the end. Hopefully we can see something better in the next few months.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who leads the Senate Democratic campaign arm defending Stabenow’s open seat in his state, noted Biden has historically enjoyed strong support within the Muslim American community but that “he’s got to continue to work with the community and now I think that’ll continue.”
Others in the delegation, like Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), indicated they were not aware of the campaign, which also includes Muslim leaders from states like Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Yet political leaders questioned whether Trump would be a viable alternative regardless of how frustrated Muslim Americans are with Biden.
“There’s a real difference of view among the Muslim and Arab American community in terms of the president’s tack in dealing with this issue, I get that,” said Kildee. “The alternative is Donald Trump, who proposed a ban on all Muslims coming into the United States and he meant it.”
Nicholas Wu contributed.
