President Biden faces two opponents in the run-up to the election.
Former President Trump is considered the Republican candidate.
And Biden will have to go head-to-head with Democrats who are disappointed with the president’s performance.
Anemic poll numbers are turning loyal Democrats away from President Biden.
“The challenge that Joe Biden has with his party, with his base, is the biggest challenge he faces in this election,” said David Cohen, a political scientist at the University of Akron. Ta. “He has a lot of problems with young voters in his party, and I think that’s directly related to what’s happening overseas in the Middle East.”
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Consider how progressives are criticizing the president for how the administration is handling the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are requesting a meeting with President Biden,” said Rep. Cori Bush, D-Missouri. “We are calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”
Michigan is a key state for Biden’s re-election. The number of electoral votes is 15. More than 100,000 voters did not vote for President Biden in last month’s Democratic primary and marked their ballots as “unconfirmed.” The president won the state in 2020 by just about 154,000 votes over former President Trump. There are about 200,000 Muslim voters in Michigan. 300,000 voters say their ancestors have ties to the Middle East or North Africa. This bloc of voters was key to President Biden’s victory in the state four years ago.
“This week’s Michigan results made it clear that voters are not satisfied with the U.S. response to the war in Gaza, and President Biden… We have to change our policy.” .
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 5: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with the Competition Council at the State Dining Room of the White House on March 5, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden announced new economic measures during the meeting. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib is Palestinian-American. She implored the president to change course on the Middle East.
“Listen to us! Listen to us, not just in Michigan. The majority of people support a ceasefire,” Tlaib implored.
The reporter then asked Tlaib if he would be voting for President Biden in November.
“Thank you,” Traib replied. “thank you.”
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Then Treib left.
“Many young voters, Gen Z and Millennials are very dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s full support for Israel,” Cohen said. “Biden cannot afford to have any kind of stall or lack of enthusiasm within the Democratic coalition. I doubt that the young Biden supporters who voted for Biden in 2020 will vote for Trump. My concern is that they…I’m going to stay home.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) sidestepped a serious question about whether President Biden should pivot from Israel in his State of the Union address to satisfy the left.
“I’m not speculating about what the president should say in the State of the Union,” Schumer responded.
Democratic team members, Michigan Democratic Party Rashida Tlaib (left) and President Biden (right) (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto, left, via AP, Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg, via Getty Images)
Vice President Harris first called for a ceasefire. The president said he wanted a ceasefire by March 10 or 11, when Ramadan begins. But even though he has taken a tougher stance, it is unclear whether the administration will get what it wants from the Israeli side.
But Middle East policy is not the only issue standing in the way of key sectors of the Democratic coalition.
By executive order, President Biden canceled a staggering $138 billion in student loan debt for 3.9 million borrowers. But that wasn’t enough to appease some Democrats. They want to wipe it all out.
And then there are borders.
Democrats are furious that Republicans killed a bipartisan border package earlier this winter after months of negotiations. But the administration’s approach to border security is as harsh as the left’s.
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have long been angry at the administration and other Democrats for not participating in border negotiations. Some liberal Democrats are angry that the bipartisan plan to fix asylum and parole has gone too far.
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Next are the mainstream Democratic Party and floating voters. They are concerned about the surge in illegal immigrants rushing across the southern border into the United States. High-profile deaths like that of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley only add to their fears. Murder suspect Jose Ibarra was charged with shoplifting and child endangerment. Republicans quickly drafted legislation that would require the detention of illegal immigrants if they violate the law.
“If we can bring national attention to this case, we will,” said Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who represents the district where Ybarra was killed. “If we can prevent these (fatalities) from happening again, we’ve done our job.”
That’s why the House plans to vote on the Laken-Riley Act just before President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, an effort to focus attention on the border during the president’s speech.
Mr. Collins asked Mr. Riley’s parents to attend the speech. But they stay home grieving. Mr. Collins said he would keep the guest seating in the public gallery overlooking the House chamber open in Mr. Riley’s honor.
But it’s not just Republicans who are furious about the border — even though many on the right have repealed the bipartisan border security policy approved by President Biden earlier this winter. Democrats from all walks of life are now calling for increased border security.
In desperation, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) told Fox that he supports part of the House Republicans’ tough border bill, now known as HR2. The bill would crack down on illegal immigration in the country and require employers to document workers.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (C), Democrat of Pennsylvania, arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023. (Photo credit: PEDRO UARTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Fetterman is focused on strengthening the border, so he wants HR2 to delay deportations of people who came to the U.S. without documents as children, with the exception of DACA.
“Everything else is on the table for me,” Fetterman said.
Pennsylvania Democrats called the Republicans’ DACA plan a “kill switch.” But he couldn’t win anything else.
“As a Democrat, I am willing and committed to pushing for policies that are even stronger than the border deal we have here,” Fetterman said. “Given the situation here at the border, that may actually be appropriate.”
So choose a problem. President Biden is struggling to connect with the lawmakers he is supposed to be cornering.
“The party is wild,” Cohen said. “Many members are thinking about their own re-election.”
In other words, if the president boasts a 50% approval rating, Democrats could reduce their support for Biden to some extent. But the numbers behind him are causing Democrats to distance themselves from President Biden.
“It’s all about political survival,” Cohen said.
This is a challenge for President Biden.
It’s another matter to be criticized by former President Trump and stalwart Republicans.
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It’s another thing to be criticized by your own party members on a daily basis.
With friends like these, President Biden has no need for enemies.
