Not welcome here…
President Biden’s reelection campaign manager attempted to meet with political activists in suburban Detroit on Friday, only to be given the cold shoulder by a voting bloc key to him winning Michigan in November.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez traveled to Dearborn, Michigan, home to the largest concentration of Muslims in the United States, only to find many community leaders unwilling to meet with her, incensed by the administration’s continued support for Israel.
The Detroit News has more on the canceled meeting:
The organizer of a planned meeting between President Joe Biden’s campaign manager and a group of Arab and Muslim American leaders in Dearborn said it was canceled Friday after some in the wider community objected to the gathering amid fury over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Some Arab American political leaders from Metro Detroit who are Democrats flatly rejected any overtures from the Biden campaign until the president advocates for Israel to cease its military assault on Gaza.
Polls indicate a significant decline in Biden’s support among Arab voters in Michigan.
Assad Turfe, who was coordinating the sit-down of Arab leaders and officials with Biden’s campaign in Dearborn, said he made the decision to cancel Friday afternoon’s group meeting “in the best interest of the community.”
“As the community got to learn about the meeting, there was definitely a lot of outrage and, ultimately, the decision was made to cancel the meeting,” said Turfe, whose family immigrated from Lebanon.
The meeting was to be between Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and 10-15 Arab American elected officials, office holders and representatives from the larger community organizations, Turfe said.
The Biden campaign did not comment on Friday’s cancelation.
The Detroit News’ latest survey of likely general election voters shows Trump leading Biden by 8% in Michigan.
In the 2020 election, Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by a margin of 2.78%. Precincts with the highest percentage of Muslims and Arab Americans voted overwhelmingly for Biden, with him winning 83% of the vote.
READ NEXT: American Museum Of Natural History Forced To Close Native American Exhibits
