The Michigan primary portion of the Acela Media’s ongoing panic over the fraying of President Joe Biden’s coalition is drawing to a close. But ahead of the Tuesday primary, there was time for ABC to get one last Sunday installment into the record.
Watch as ABC This Week’s “Power Panel” delves into its latest installment of MICHIGAN DOOM- as aired on Sunday, February 25th, 2024:
MARTHA RADDATZ: Let's move onto Michigan. You've got Michigan this week and progressives have been upset about Joe Biden's support of Israel, which we think there might be some sort of ceasefire and hostage release brewing. They- that state has the largest percentage of Arab American voters. How concerned should the campaign be about this?
RACHEL BADE: Way more concerned than they currently are. I actually talked to the leader of the Abandon Biden movement on the ground there. He's a Palestinian American, those folks who have had family members who have died during the bombardments in Gaza, and he was a Biden voter. Just a few months ago, he had a sign- Biden/Harris sign in his yard. Now he says he would sooner vote for…what did he say? Sooner vote for Mickey Mouse than Joe Biden- even if it means voting for Donald Trump. So I think that- if you look at the numbers- one more thing, Martha, Joe Biden won by 150,000 votes in Michigan. There are 200,000 Muslim or Arab American voters in Michigan. If he alienates all of them, Michigan is gone for him.
RADDATZ: And, small numbers, really, overall. We just have a few seconds here, but really could have a profound impact.
ASMA KHALID: A critical impact. And to that point, I spoke with a number of people who sat in meetings either with Biden campaign officials or with Biden officials, policy makers, who are so dissatisfied- came out of those meetings still not convinced that they will vote for Joe Biden.
RADDATZ: Something we'll all watch this week. Michigan coming up. Thanks to all of you.
We’re into the third month of the media’s fretting over Biden’s prospects in Michigan, which is primed to be a swing state in 2024. The pattern is the same across networks: A correspondent parachutes into Dearborn, speaks to a few community leaders, and wraps their item by emoting concern over Biden’s electoral prospects should Michigan fall to Trump.
Even the questions are the same. It’s always some variant of “are you willing to refuse to vote for Biden over Gaza even if Trump wins?” And the answers are some variant of “I must vote my conscience” or “If Trump wins, Trump wins”.
ABC News had, until now, avoided mentioning “Abandon Biden”, a movement endorsed by both U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib and Bernie Sanders’ “Our Revolution”. The ongoing ask of Democratic primary voters is to embarrass Biden over his Gaza response by voting “Uncommitted”.
With Primary night virtually upon us, what can we expect going forward? Look to the percentages garnered by “Uncommitted” in places like Dearborn and Hamtramck. Should there be news of some sort of ceasefire in Gaza, look to these same correspondents to parachute back into the Arab American community seeking to elicit positive reactions. If not, expect the “DOOM” drumbeat to continue, and for the “Biden’s coalition is crumbling” series to extend itself.
