Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday slammed the movement among far-left members of her party to cast ballots as “uncommitted” instead of President Biden in the state’s upcoming primary.
Snubbing Mr. Biden, an effort pushed by those like “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib to protest the president’s refusal to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, only serves to fuel his likely Republican contender, said Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat.
“It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “A second Trump term would be devastating, not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who supported a Muslim ban.”
Ms. Tlaib, Congress’ only Palestinian-American, and dozens of state and local progressive officials have become increasingly alienated from Mr. Biden and U.S. support for Israel, as the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to climb. They say they plan to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Tuesday primary.
Although Mr. Biden will face no hurdles to winning the nomination, he’ll need to secure the support of the swing state’s significant Arab and Muslim communities ahead of the November election. He won in 2020 against former President Donald Trump by just 3 percentage points in Michigan.
“I understand the pain that people are feeling, and I’ll continue to work to build bridges with folks in all of these communities,” Ms. Whitmer said.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.