Biden’s support among Arab American voters plunges since Israel-Hamas war

President Biden’s support among Arab American voters has sharply decreased since the Israel-Hamas war, plummeting to dismal and unprecedented numbers.

Support for his upcoming reelection bid from Arab Americans dropped by 42 percentage points, from 59 percent in 2020 to 17 percent, according to a new poll conducted by the Arab American Institute. 

The poll found that if the election were held today, 40 percent said they would vote for former President Trump, the GOP front-runner. In 2020, 35 percent of those polled said they would vote for him. 

Meanwhile, the new poll found that 25 percent said they’re not sure for whom they would vote if the 2024 election were today. And, it found that 23 percent of Arab Americans identify as Democrats, which is down by 17 percent since April. 

The institute said the poll marks the first time in the 26 years it has polled Arab Americans that the majority did not claim to prefer the Democratic Party.

The institute said it commissioned a special nationwide poll since the violence broke out in “Palestine/Israel” following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel and Israel’s ongoing response in Gaza.

The poll found that 66 percent of Arab Americans surveyed had a negative view of Biden, and only 20 percent would rate his job performance as president as excellent or good.  

The institute outlined that several critical swing states in 2024, including Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, have large Arab American populations. 

Progressives have been upping their pressure on Biden to call for a cease-fire. The president has faced backlash over his response to the violence in the Middle East from Democrats on the left wing of the party, young voters, and others.

Sixty-seven percent of Arab Americans polled said they have a negative view of Biden’s response to the violence in the Middle East, 68 percent believe the U.S. should call for a cease-fire, and 68 percent believe the U.S. should not be sending weapons and military supplies to Israel.

The polling found that 78 percent of Arab Americans are concerned about anti-Arab bigotry and 67 percent are concerned about an increase in antisemitism in the U.S. Fifty-nine percent said the experienced discrimination since April of this year, which marks a 6 percent increase.

The poll surveyed 500 Arab Americans between Oct. 23-27. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.