(NewsNation) — A campaign within the Democratic party is pushing people to vote uncommitted in protest of President Joe Biden’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war, ahead of the Michigan primary.
Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and political satirist, and Sabrina Siddiqui, White House reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joined NewsNation’s “Morning in America” to discuss how the movement will impact Biden’s 2024 campaign, saying it is short-sighted.
“I don’t expect the policy, in this instance toward Israel and Gaza, to change significantly enough to make that community happy enough to not vote uncommitted or to vote for Biden,” Chemali said, adding, “what they could try to do is get small wins, and shift the policy here and there, or try to get more humanitarian aid or try to get less of this more of that, not stand there in a stubborn way and say, unless you change the policy, not only are we not going to vote for you, we’re not going to meet with you.”
“I believe that voting uncommitted is a vote for Trump, and they know that, but doing this protest, it doesn’t gain anything really,” Chemali told NewsNation.
Michigan’s presidential primary on Tuesday will offer a serious test of President Joe Biden’s ability to navigate dissent within the Democratic Party over his response to Israel’s war with Hamas.
“The Biden administration is placing more emphasis on a tonal or rhetorical shift, but the policy in the region is not going to change,” said Siddiqui. “What these voters are looking for is a shift in policy, they want the president to embrace a permanent ceasefire, he’s only willing to in call for a temporary ceasefire.”
The Michigan contest is the final major race before the election calendar broadens dramatically on Super Tuesday, March 5. That’s when more than a dozen states will hold elections with thousands of delegates at stake.