Biden and Harris followed by calls for ceasefire and pro-Palestinian protests

Where President Joe Biden goes, protests follow.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, Biden cannot escape protesters making calls for a ceasefire in the conflict, which have greeted him at fundraisers, family vacations, and even funerals.

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Lately, Vice President Kamala Harris has not been immune either. She was interrupted by a local lawmaker calling for a ceasefire during a speech in her own residence Tuesday night.

Biden has a long history of supporting Israel — his first visit to the country came in 1973 — yet his recent statements indicate the president may be seeking to moderate his position as support wanes among younger Democrats.

Earlier this week, Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must change as dissent around the world continues to grow in response to Israel’s actions to combat Hamas.

“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden told the group Tuesday. “This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history … I think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.”

Biden stressed that Israel has the support of the United States, yet he added that Europe and the European Union may stray if “indiscriminate bombing” continues. Later in the day, the president appeared to express doubts about Israel’s reported plans to flood Hamas tunnels in Gaza, saying he does not know for a fact that there are no hostages remaining in the tunnels.

A Pew Research Center survey found that 41% of adults disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict, 35% approve, and 24% are not sure. But the disapproval rating jumps to 46% for adults under age 30, with just 19% of that age group approving. Support was higher for older voters, and while 51% of Republicans disapprove, it may be because they feel he has been too soft on Hamas.

The poll found that 21% of respondents overall think Biden is favoring the Israelis too much, while 16% think he is favoring Palestinians too much. That indicates the difficulty of finding a balancing act in the conflict, especially within Biden’s own party.

“This has become an internal Democratic Party problem,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said. “If you look at the numbers generally, Americans are supportive of Israel by about a two-to-one margin, but the Democrats are split pretty much down the middle now on whether or not they’re sympathetic to Israel’s actions in Gaza.”

Bannon said the president’s recent comments may indicate that the administration is responding to the shift in sentiment among Democrats, but he acknowledged that any administration that moves away from Israel risks alienating moderates, who were key to Biden’s 2020 victory over former President Donald Trump.

“This is a really difficult one for the administration because he doesn’t want to abandon Israel, a long-time ally, but at the same time, Netanyahu is making Biden’s life very difficult by continuing this effort which many Americans find horrific,” Bannon said.

Netanyahu and Biden have known each other since the 1980s, though the Israeli Prime Minster is a figure of the political right, which could further strain relations between the two as the conflict continues.

The Israel question cropped up again during Wednesday’s White House press briefing, at which multiple reporters asked about Biden’s stance and what exactly he meant by calling for the country to change.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby struggled to square Biden’s comments, specifically his use of the term “indiscriminate” to describe Israel’s airstrikes, with the administration’s position that the Israeli government is doing everything it can to minimize civilian casualties.

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“We have every expectation that Israel will do exactly what they say they’re doing, which is to continue to go after the terrorist leaders and to do so in a way that minimizes civilian harm,” Kirby stated.

That stance is unlikely to placate the protesters, who have repeatedly called for nothing less than an end to the conflict and accused Biden of committing genocide.