Michigan Democrats Let Loose on Biden on MSNBC: ‘Thinking We’re Stupid Enough to Elect You Again’
A panel of Michigan Democratic voters offered their raw thoughts on President Joe Biden during an MSNBC segment and most are not ready to vote for Biden in November, even if that means Donald Trump gets elected.
MSNBC’s Yasmin Vossoughian spoke to four Michigan voters in a Thursday segment for the network, two of whom are co-founders of the Abandon Biden organization. The talk also follows Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) calling for Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the Michigan primary as a protest of Biden’s support of Israel’s strikes on Gaza.
Biden won Michigan in 2020 by a slim margin, and Trump won it in 2016 by an even slimmer margin. The state’s large Muslim and Arab American population amid the Israel-Hamas war has led many to question how the president will fare with Democratic voters in the state.
“Is there a pathway forward for you with Biden?” Vossoughian asked her panel.
“Oh, absolutely not,” Farah Khan, an Abandon Biden co-founder, said. “You cannot keep killing people with our money and just keep thinking, oh, we are stupid enough to elect you again because we’ll fall in line, we’ll forget. How can — this is an insult to me as a voter.”
Khalid Turaani, another Abandon Biden co-founder, said he was willing to “punish” Biden over his stance in the Israel-Hamas war.
“It’s like a vaccine. I’m willing to take short-term pain for a long-term gain. I’m willing to let go of Joe Biden and oppose Joe Biden, make him a one-term president, punish Joe Biden by making him a one-term president,” he said, referring to the Gaza war as “genocide,” a term Tlaib also used previously when criticizing the president.
Mikal Goodman, a Michigan councilman, said the only “path forward” for him voting for Biden would be a call for a “permanent and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, accusing Israel of “war crimes.” Nearly 30,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, are estimated to have been killed in Israel’s strikes, which followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which more than 1,000 were killed in Israel and hundreds more were taken hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that he will not stop until Hamas is completely eliminated.
Annie Wisner, a University of Michigan graduate student, told Vossoughian that American democracy shouldn’t be viewed as more valuable than the civilians that have died in the war.
“Why is our democracy more important than thousands of men, women, and children being killed?” she asked.
Watch above via MSNBC.
