A national Muslim activist group named “Abandon Biden” is mobilizing efforts in nine swing states to thwart President Joe Biden’s reelection in November, criticizing his handling of the Israel and Hamas conflict, as reported.
Abdel Salam, 48, is among Muslim activists, including several from Minnesota, organizing in nine swing states against Biden’s reelection. The group’s leaders claim they aim to politically penalize the president for what they see as facilitating mass civilian casualties in Gaza.
Salam, a human rights professor at the University of Minnesota, left campus in April to spearhead the movement.
Salam stated he and other Abandon Biden leaders are considering third-party candidates and plan to endorse one this summer. He noted, if Trump wins due to their efforts, “the significant outcome would be that an entire party … becomes a pro-Palestinian party against the occupation and will start to pursue equity much more vigorously than in the past.”
The threat to Biden’s reelection from discontent among Muslims, Arab-Americans, young voters, and progressives on the left has been well-documented throughout the election year. Over half a million Democrat primary voters protested Biden’s war management and demanded a ceasefire by casting various forms of “uncommitted” votes against him.
The Listen to Michigan campaign, which initiated the movement, emphasizes the threat that these voters may abstain from voting in November unless there is a significant policy shift. Even though Biden called for a ceasefire from Benjamin Netanyahu in April and threatened to withhold weapons from Israel, the movement continued in the Maryland Democrat primary on May 14. With the November election approaching, Biden’s time is running out.
While Maryland is not a realistic target for Republicans, movements in Michigan and other swing states, where the margins between Trump and Biden were narrow in 2020, pose a significant threat for Democrats and Biden. This is especially critical as polls show Trump is already leading in many of these states.
Jaylani Hussein, on the national Abandon Biden board with Salam and three others, highlighted Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin as states where the Muslim vote could significantly impact the electoral outcome.
“Our calculations currently show no viable path for Biden to win,” Hussein told the Tribune.
The report follows a recent New York Times/Siena College poll indicating that Trump has made substantial gains with Muslim and Arab-American voters in swing states. The poll found Trump gaining 57 percent of these voters compared to Biden’s 25 percent.
“Those who said they voted in the 2020 election reported backing Mr. Biden by a similar but opposite margin, 56-35,” Times Chief Political Analyst Nate Cohn reported on May 13. The poll surveyed 4,097 registered voters between April 28 and May 9.
