WASHINGTON — National Democrats have insisted this year that the party is united and ready to rally behind President Joe Biden heading into next year’s elections. But a protest outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters signals rising tensions within the coalition that propelled Democrats to victory in the recent elections.
On Wednesday evening, demonstrators clashed with police calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and criticizing Biden’s support for Israel’s offensive following the October 7 Hamas attack. Inside the building, Democrats were organizing to win back the U.S. House of Representatives next year, including moderates from swing states that Biden took from former President Donald Trump.
Both protesters and members of Congress said Thursday they were shocked and angry on the other side. Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan, a longtime Biden ally, said: “We were so close. I mean, I was just on the other side of that door. I was upset.”
The political symbolism of a violent confrontation outside the DNC is not lost on some activists who are trying to pressure Biden by warning he is jeopardizing his reelection. Even small cracks in Biden’s 2020 coalition could hurt his chances in 2024 in what is likely to be a rematch with Trump.
“The Democratic Party and the Democratic leadership are not aligned and not listening to us,” said Dani Noble of Jewish Voice for Peace, who helped organize the demonstration and said 90 participants were injured by police .
Biden allies noted that some of the groups organizing the DNC protest are aligning themselves with the far left, outside the party’s mainstream. DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “As Americans, we have the right to peacefully protest, but violence is never acceptable.”
Biden and first lady Jill Biden called a meeting of the DNC and campaign staff on Thursday to honor law enforcement for keeping everyone safe and to “thank the staffers for all they do,” the White House said.
David Eichenbaum, a veteran consultant who worked on Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection last week in otherwise reliably Republican Kentucky, said he thinks “Americans expect their president to show leadership, and that means making tough decisions.” to take.”
“He has led on this with his values,” Eichenbaum said of Biden, adding: “You are always better off when you lead and govern with your values. Voters don’t want someone to please everyone. Because you can’t please everyone and then they will see through it.”
The US is providing weapons and intelligence support to Israel as it mounts an offensive in Gaza aimed at wiping out Hamas after the October 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 people. Biden has spoken repeatedly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says he is working to release hostages held by Hamas, including some Americans.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom are women and minors, have been killed since the war began. About 2,700 people have been reported missing. The rising death toll has led to calls for a ceasefire in parts of the US and the world. Israel has rejected one so far.
The president’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has sharply divided members of his party, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released last week. The poll found that 50% of Democrats approved of the president’s handling of the conflict, while 46% of Democrats disapproved. Of those who disapprove, 65% say the US supports Israel too much.
Wednesday’s violent confrontation took place while Biden was in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and later announced that the two countries had agreed to work together to better combat fentanyl production and restore direct military-to-military communications — potentially politically valuable victories in the field foreign policy.
The White House and Biden’s reelection campaign also say they are listening to the concerns of both Jewish and Arab voters and staffers.
A senior White House official directly involved in the Arab-American outreach said that since the first Hamas attack by Anita Dunn, one of Biden’s top political advisers, there has been a call every day about the war in Gaza and how involvement in the Jewish-American and Palestinian areas can be increased. Muslim American communities.
The official said other White House efforts include former DNC Chairman Tom Perez, who is now a senior adviser to the president, calling on state lawmakers in Michigan to discuss issues surrounding the war. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said the Biden administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in the fighting and getting aid in Gaza and that “fighting the poison of anti-Semitism and standing up for Israel’s sovereign right to defending have always been core values for President Biden. ”
Still, organizers calling for a ceasefire promise more demonstrations. That raises the prospect of repeated disruptions at campaign events and next year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago — more than half a century after Vietnam War demonstrations marred the 1968 convention in that city. Democrat Hubert Humphrey would lose that fall to Republican Richard Nixon.
“I thought the Democratic Party was the party of peace and treated people equally,” said Eva Borgwardt, spokesperson for IfNotNow, a group of American Jews who oppose the Israeli government’s policies. Borgwardt said she helped turn out Democratic voters in Arizona, which Biden won by just over 10,000 votes in 2020.
“I know how crucial motivation and trust in the party is to convince people to vote,” she said. “And right now I know so many young voters, including Jewish voters, who are watching the actions of our voters. Democratic leadership and being completely shocked and disillusioned.”
But Rep. Hillary Scholten, a first-term representative from Grand Rapids, Michigan, said Wednesday that the protesters had “chosen violence” and were a “fringe element.”
“They chose to lock several members of Congress in a building to prevent their movement, including members of the senior leadership of our Democratic Party,” said Scholten, who became the first Democrat to serve since the mid-1970s the second largest city in Michigan. “That is an extreme increase in violence and whether that is a continuing pattern I think remains to be seen.”
And Illinois Rep. Sean Casten, who was also a member of the DNC during the protest, said true leadership means delivering “the greatest good for the greatest number of people — even if it’s unpopular.”
“The unanimity of the Democratic Party, broadly speaking, in support of President Biden reflects a party that is willing to do the right thing first,” he said.
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Cappelletti reported from Lansing, Michigan.