WARREN, MI — President Joe Biden chatted with a friendly union crowd at a United Auto Workers hall in Michigan on Thursday as pro-Palestinian demonstrators, held back by police carrying riot shields, expressed their anger nearby over the president’s full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas.
The tension highlighted the challenges Biden faces in maintaining this critical state of contest in November over likely rival Donald Trump, and underscored Democrats’ concerns about waning enthusiasm among voters who have been key to their coalition .
Biden’s visit to autoworkers who made phone calls for him ahead of the state’s Democratic primary came just days after union President Shawn Fain announced they were supporting him. Fain praised Biden’s ties to the working class, saying, “We know who has been for labor and who hasn’t,” adding that the union’s mission now is to “keep Joe Biden as our president.”
Biden, who joined striking workers on the picket line last year, responded: “Supporting you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
However, Biden’s program in Michigan did not include meetings with Arab Americans, adding to growing frustration over his support for Israel in its war with Hamas as the Palestinian death toll has risen.
“Why not have a meaningful conversation about how to change course with a community that has firsthand stories of what it’s like to live in the countries where your decision-making unfolds,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn . the largest Arab-American communities in the country.
Despite the White House providing no advance details about Biden’s planned rally, nearly 200 pro-Palestinian protesters waited for Biden near the UAW Region 1 building in Warren ahead of his event there. The president’s motorcade bypassed them via side streets.
Protesters chanted, “Hey Biden, what do you say? We will not vote on election day or on pro-Palestinian slogans, including ‘Free, Free Palestine’.
Amir Naddaf, 34, traveled with friends from Ann Arbor to protest the president’s UAW event after endorsing Biden in the 2020 election
“We came here to send a clear message to the government that they are not welcome in Michigan,” Naddaf said.
Dozens of police officers dressed in riot gear and an armored vehicle stopped protesters from approaching the union hall.
More than 26,000 Palestinians, mostly women and minors, have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-ruled area. Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in the attack and kidnapped another 250, mostly civilians.
Michigan has become increasingly Democratic in recent years, with the party controlling all levels of state government for the first time in four decades. Biden wants to build on that power as he seeks reelection and the state’s critical 15 electoral votes.
The president does not face a serious challenge in the primaries, but his campaign is trying to build energy for the tougher battle in the fall. Michigan was part of the so-called three-state blue wall — with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — that brought Biden back to the Democratic column when he won the White House in 2020.
He began his visit to Michigan by meeting with black religious leaders at They Say restaurant in Harper Woods, outside Detroit, before thanking autoworkers for their support.
Warren, where Biden met with union workers, is in Macomb County, an area that Democrats lost to Trump by wide margins in the past two national elections. Biden’s outreach to workers there came amid concerns within the party about rising tensions between Biden and Arab Americans in the state, many of them in Detroit’s Wayne County, the Democratic Party’s largest base.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters from Air Force One with Biden that senior administration officials will travel to Michigan later in February to hear from community leaders about the conflict in Israel and Gaza. She did not specify which officials or with whom they would meet.
The UAW’s early endorsement was a clear victory for Biden, who came to Michigan last year to stand with striking autoworkers. His latest meeting with union members follows Trump’s visit to another of the most influential unions in the US, the Teamsters, in Washington on Wednesday.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., a longtime Biden ally, said Democrats must leverage a large number of constituencies in Michigan to hold the state in 2024.
“Michigan is a purple state. I say that to everyone,” she said. “It’s clear that the Arab-American community matters. But young people must come forward. They were very decisive in terms of voter turnout two years ago. A large part of the union leaders have supported the president, but we must enter the union halls. and provide contrast so that people really understand what it is about. And we need to ensure that women and independents stand up. You know, we’re a competitive state.”
Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, led a group of campaign advisers to the Dearborn area last week as part of her ongoing efforts to meet with core support groups across the country. She spoke with some community leaders, but the trip ended abruptly when Arab-American leaders refused to show up to meet with her.
Ahead of Biden’s visit, demonstrators held a community meeting in Dearborn on Wednesday evening to protest government policies supporting Israel.
“People in the Middle Eastern community are not confused. They are crystal clear about the way Palestine has been handled versus Israel,” said former Democratic state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, who is from Detroit. “Just coming to visit them without changing their position will not move them. African Americans “We’re not confused either. And so you can’t just visit. One visit is not enough.”
Biden and his aides have said they do not want civilians to die in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and the US is working to negotiate a new ceasefire so crucial aid can reach the area.
During a visit to Tel Aviv in October, Biden warned Israelis not to be “consumed by anger.” But the president and his aides have also said he believes Israel has the right to defend itself and has asked Congress for billions to help Israel in its war effort.
On Thursday, Biden spoke about the threat of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism during a National Prayer Breakfast in Washington ahead of his trip.
“We not only pray for peace, we actively work for peace, security and dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” he said.
A December AP-NORC poll found that 59% of Democrats approve of Biden’s approach to the conflict, up from 50% in November. But Democratic voters in the New Hampshire primary were roughly divided over Biden’s handling of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to AP VoteCast.
___ AP Writer Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.