Trouble in Paradise: Division on Left Imperils Joe Biden’s Reelection Prospects

Protests and disruptions from pro-Palestinian demonstrators at President Joe Biden’s glitzy, elitist fundraiser on Thursday are the latest examples of extreme division on the left regarding his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, which is jeopardizing his reelection prospects.

Outside of Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, a large crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators screamed phrases like, “Fuck Joe Biden!” “Genocide Joe Has got to go!” and “Democrats, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!”:

Inside the event, Biden appeared on stage alongside the last two Democrat presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and late-night television host Stephen Colbert, and they were met with multiple disruptions from protesters. One woman with a “war pig” sign blew a whistle, the New York Post noted. Another screamed, “Shame on you, Joe Biden,” while several shouted, “Blood on your hands”:

The protesters drew Obama’s ire, who, according to a Reuters reporter, chided, “[Y]ou can’t just talk, you have to listen”:

This is just the latest in a growing list of protests – ranging from violent to civil – that spotlight the major fracture on the left regarding Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, which began when some 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered in a Hamas attack.

In the leadup to this latest optic issue for Biden, there had been protests at the White House– one of which saw monuments to heroes of the American Revolution desecrated, a violent protest outside of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in Washington, DC, and silent forms of protests from Muslim and arab leaders in Michigan – a critical swing state that will bear enormous implications for the outcome of the 2024 election.

Furthermore, Biden’s route to the State of the Union in March had to be redirected after pro-Palestinian protesters shut down the route he had planned to take.

Worries had already sprouted about potential pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention after the violent protest at the DNC headquarters. These concerns will only be amplified after the terrible political optics of Biden’s $25 million fundraiser.

White House Protests

Anti-Israel protesters attempted to storm the White House on November 4, 2023 – less than a month after Hamas’s brutal attacks – while also desecrating monuments to some of America’s heroes, as Breitbart News reported.

Demonstrators shook the gates to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, chanting slogans such as “You stand with genocide” and “Allahu Akbar”:

The demonstration followed tens of thousands taking to the streets in the nation’s capitol earlier that day to call for a ceasefire. Breitbart News documented the aftermath of the protest on the morning of November 5 with images of antisemitic rhetoric graffitied on monuments in the vicinity, as well as red paint hand prints on the gates of the White House with the words “Free Palestine”:

On one small monument, the phrases “Fuck Israel,” “Fuck Biden,” “Death to the USA,” “Tranny Fags 4 Palestine,” “Amerikkka = pigs,” and “Kos Om Israel” were written. “Kos Om Israel” is Arabic for “Your mother’s cunt, Israel.”

Moreover, a statue of General Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, in Lafayette Park, was vandalized with phrases such as “Free Palestine” and “Palestine will be free.”

Protesters visited the White House again on January 13, where they screamed obscenities and were seen shaking a security fence:

DNC Headquarters Protest

On November 15, just days after the first White House demonstrations, a pro-Palestinian protest outside of the DNC turned violent, as Breitbart News noted:

NBC News noted that dozens of protesters “got into a shoving match with officers, while journalist David Weigel reported they also blocked the entrance to the building but did not storm the structure.

Six police officers sustained injuries during the violent protest, and one individual was “arrested for assault on an officer,” a post from the U.S. Capitol Police X account stated:

“We appreciate our officers who kept these illegal & violent protesters back & protected everyone in the area,” the post added.

This incident triggered worries on the left about potentially violent protests at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago this August, as Breitbart News noted, citing reporting from Politico:

After a meeting with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) on Thursday surrounding the convention, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) Chief of Staff Rich Guidice told Politico that CPD is getting ready in the case of similar occurrences next summer. 

“We have to anticipate that there’s a lot of tension and very passionate positions,” chief of staff Guidice told the outlet. “There’s ongoing training already taking place, specifically in de-escalation training.”

“There will be many, many workshops and conversations on how to handle large crowds,” he added.

At the time of Politico‘s November report, one group called Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression had already put in a permit request for a 1,000-person protest at the convention.

“We are planning to keep things family friendly, but we don’t know what the police are planning,” Kobi Guillory, a co-chair of the organization, said. “We aren’t going to get into fistfights with police. We are going to air our grievances.”

Arab American, Muslim Leaders in Michigan Snub Biden Campaign Manager

In January, at least ten arab leaders in Dearborn County, Michigan, opted not to attend a scheduled meeting with Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, as the Associated Press reported:

Julie Chavez Rodriguez led a group of campaign advisers to the Dearborn area, as part of her ongoing effort to meet with core supporter groups around the country.

She spoke throughout the day with some Arab American community leaders. But Rodriguez’s trip ended when a late afternoon meeting with Arab American leaders was canceled after everyone invited — between 10 and 15 people — declined to show up.

Other activists went beyond simply not showing up for Rodriguez, as leaders from “Abandon Biden,” a movement discouraging voters from supporting the president in November, spoke to hundreds of people at a local mosque in anticipation of the campaign manager’s visit.

Weeks later, Biden deployed top aides for a meeting in Dearborn County with Arab American and Muslim leaders. Trump was also leading in several Michigan polls over the months preceding the visit. As of Friday, Trump owned a 3.5 percentage-point lead over Biden in Michigan, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. Trump leads Biden in six of the polls included in the average, while they tie in the other two.

Protesters Force Biden to Take a Different Route to State of the Union

On March 7, Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the route Biden’s motorcade was set to take to the U.S. Capitol for the State of the Union address:

“We do not agree that corporations get to have more rights than us and the people in Gaza,” a woman shouted over a megaphone, and others chanted, “Shame!”

CNN’s Jake Tapper reported that the protesters forced the U.S. Secret Service to take an alternate route and that Biden was late for the speech.