MANASSAS, Va. — It was President Joe Biden’s first major campaign rally of the year, an opportunity to highlight the issue of protecting abortion rights. Instead, at least a dozen times during Biden’s 22-minute speech, protesters scattered throughout the audience rose to shout demands for a ceasefire in Gaza.
His speech in Virginia last week became a back-and-forth affair. Time and time again, protesters intervened and were drowned out by audience members shouting chants of “four more years!” and “Joe! José! José!”
“They feel deeply,” Biden said of the protesters, who were removed from the room by security personnel.
The Democratic president is increasingly facing protests inside and outside his events from progressives upset by his administration’s support for Israel in its Gaza offensive. More than 26,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s Health Ministry.
The protests lay bare the tensions Biden faces within his own party as he grapples with the consequences of his handling of the war while respecting his critics’ First Amendment rights to speak. Biden’s ability to navigate those crosscurrents will be critical to his re-election effort as he tries to revitalize Democrats this fall, especially young people who are particularly concerned about the effects of war.
Protesters disrupted Biden’s speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina earlier this month when the president spoke out against racism, and showed up at a United Auto Workers meeting last week in Washington, where Biden accepted the endorsement of the powerful union, and at a political meeting. event in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday.
“For most people, there are very few opportunities in this life to confront the president of the United States,” said Niki Thomas, a 29-year-old UAW member who shouted for a ceasefire and was dragged out of the room. during the Biden presidency. speech to the union. “There was no way we weren’t going to take that opportunity to speak for ourselves, for our members, to have a chance to let the president know how we feel.”
Protesting is an American tradition, and it is not surprising that a president would see demonstrations on an issue like the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Biden’s advisers and allies say the vocal few do not represent the majority who support his policies.
“It is useful? No. It doesn’t help the president’s ability to mobilize and unite his base,” Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher said of the protests. “But is it fatal at this moment? I don’t think it’s fatal. “They have to navigate it.”
As part of that navigation, he said, Biden needs to show voters what he is doing to end the conflict and contrast that with what Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said: that the war should be allowed to “end.” I developed”. The president has also called for closing US borders to Palestinian refugees.
Biden and his aides have said they do not want to see any civilians die in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and Biden helped broker a temporary ceasefire that allowed critical aid to reach the territory and the release of some hostages held by the militants.
During a visit to Tel Aviv, Biden warned Israelis not to become “consumed by anger.” But Biden has also said that he believes Israel has the right to defend itself and has asked Congress for billions to help Israel in its war effort.
“The president is concerned, as I said from the beginning, about the more than 100 hostages,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby. “He is not looking at the clock or the electoral calendar.”
Democratic voters in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary were divided over how Biden has handled the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to AP VoteCast. Only 4 in 10 of those who disapproved of how Biden has handled the conflict voted for him. But among those who approve of Biden’s leadership in the Middle East, nearly 8 in 10 voted for him.
How the president handles his vocal detractors is also important. Those who disrupt your events are usually removed by security or event staff. If someone is considered a threat or becomes violent, they may face arrest. No one has been arrested so far.
Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said Biden’s response to protesters shows he is “a president who understands and respects Americans’ fundamental First Amendment rights to peacefully protest.”
“Joe Biden is addressing the situation in the Middle East, not through the lens of politics, but as the commander in chief of this country who was prioritizing American national security and global security,” Tyler said. He said Biden was doing so “with the empathy and decency that complex situations demand.”
It’s a stark contrast, he said, to how Trump handles dissent.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump rallies occasionally descended into violence: Protesters kicked or punched while being escorted, and Trump called disruptors “disgusting” and troublemakers.”
This year, Trump has faced isolated protests at recent campaign events in Iowa and New Hampshire from protesters over climate change and other policies.
When heckled at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, shortly before the state’s Republican caucuses on Jan. 15, Trump mocked the stage as a protester was quickly removed: “Go home to mom. Your mommy is waiting. Go home to mom.”
At a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, Trump called protesters “the wrong people.”
The next night, when a protester disrupted his rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump ordered from the stage: “You can kick him out.”
Biden has tried to acknowledge and empathize with the concerns of his protesters and follow through with his speeches.
During Biden’s remarks at Mother Emanuel, where nine black parishioners were shot to death in a racist attack in 2015, he raised his hand to calm the angry crowd as protesters were chased away.
One protester shouted: “If you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine!”
Biden responded: “I understand your passion. And I’ve been quietly working, I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to significantly reduce and exit Gaza.”
An audience member shouted from the benches: “You are an understanding person. “You are an understanding person.”
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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Josh Boak in Washington and Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.