The Washington Examiner’s Sarah Bedford argued Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s reelection chances could be affected based on how he navigates the rise in pro-Palestinian support on college campuses within the United States.
The U.S. has seen a growing number of protests made against Israel, with even some Democratic lawmakers such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticizing Israel and the country’s leadership. Bedford, the investigations editor for the Washington Examiner, argued that this mentality across the U.S. could be a vulnerability to the president’s reelection chances this fall, though she acknowledged that Biden has tried to distance himself from anti-Israel ideologies.
“But the more that Joe Biden is seen as capitulating to the demands of that faction of the Democratic Party, whether that’s by criticizing Israel in his foreign policy, siding with the radical Democrats in Congress who embrace this sort of anti-Israel, borderline antisemitic rhetoric, I think the more vulnerable Joe Biden is on this issue because it reinforces that perception that Joe Biden, who ran as a centrist who would bring the country together, is embracing a faction of the Democratic Party that most Americans view as radical and out of touch,” Bedford said on Fox Business’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast.
The rising number of protests in the U.S. saw a spike after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorist group. Last week, hundreds of pro-Palestinian students occupied Columbia University’s main lawn to demand the school divest from Israel. Meanwhile, the school’s president, Nemat Shafik, was testifying on Capitol Hill on the day of the protests.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has called on Biden to send the National Guard to college campuses to provide protection to Jewish students.
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On Sunday, the eve of Passover, the White House issued a statement reiterating his support for the Jewish people, noting how this is the first Passover since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad,” the statement read. “My Administration is working around the clock to free the hostages, and we will not rest until we bring them home. We are also working to establish an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza as a part of a deal that releases the hostages and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.”