Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) on Sunday argued “there’s a lot that has to be done” for President Biden to win back Muslim voters ahead of the 2024 election as some voters raise calls to “abandon Biden” over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Asked on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” if Biden can do anything to win back these voters, Dingell said, “So there’s a lot that has to be done, and this is a very serious issue.”
Dingell said she knows the community of Muslim voters, having lived 40 years in Dearborn, Mich., the city with the largest Arab American population in the U.S.
“They are hurting. All of us in this country need to understand what’s happening in Gaza right now,” she continued. “You can fight about how many thousands of people have been killed, but 6,000 to 8,000 children have been killed, 85 percent of the people in Gaza have had to leave their homes, they’re living in shelters.”
Dingell reiterated a call for a cease-fire and a unified push for a two-state solution after the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas ends. Dingell joins a growing chorus of political figures calling for a cease-fire in Gaza amid the rising death toll and exacerbated humanitarian crisis.
Fighting has continued for more than two months since Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel that left about 1,200 people dead, including hundreds of civilians. Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas, which controls Gaza, has left more than 18,700 people dead, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
The Biden administration has remained steadfast in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself while also recently upping calls on Israel to actively try to minimize civilian deaths.
The Hill spoke with Muslim voters in various parts of the U.S. last month who said they feel betrayed and disappointed with Biden’s handling of the conflict and continued support for Israel. Earlier this month, leaders from Michigan and other swing states pledged to ditch support for Biden over his refusal to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
One of the organizers of this push, Minneapolis-based Jaylani Hussein, told The Associated Press that Biden’s actions have widely damaged his relationship with American Muslim voters, with many angry that they chose to vote for Biden in the 2020 election.
The effects may already be showing themselves through polling numbers. A CNN poll released last week showed Trump with a 10-point lead over Biden in Michigan, a significant shift from 2020, when Biden carried the state.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.