Many Democrats privately predicted that defections could spike on Friday, and both Biden’s supporters and those who say he should end his candidacy were keeping a close eye on how many dissidents would come forward. Some in the party were waiting for the NATO summit in Washington to end, and others were holding their fire until the press conference.
But other Democrats who have previously been critical of Biden have praised his clear grasp of foreign policy and the global economy. The range of responses suggests that the next 24 to 48 hours could be crucial in determining Biden’s political future, adding to the drama surrounding the president’s performance in Michigan on Friday.
Hours before the news conference, four Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives had called on him to step aside, citing fears that he would struggle to defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump amid voter concerns about his age. Biden is 81 and Trump is 78, but polls suggest voters are significantly more concerned about Biden’s ability than Trump’s.
Biden began the question-and-answer session by touting his NATO accomplishments and his presidential record, implicitly defending his continued candidacy. But early on, he mistakenly referred to Vice President Harris as “Vice President Trump,” a verbal misstep that drew audible gasps from the room and frustration from already nervous Democrats.
But Biden also gave long, complex answers to a series of foreign policy questions and argued forcefully that he is the best person to defeat Trump and run the country. Yet, given the view among many Democrats that Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy, they may not be willing to take that risk.
Democrats have been feverishly debating whether Biden should remain their presidential nominee after a June 27 debate performance — when he stumbled over words and at times struggled to finish sentences — highlighted long-simmering concerns about his physical and mental fitness. Biden has so far been unmoved by growing calls from within his party to withdraw from the race.
The president’s visit to Michigan could also highlight another major political vulnerability, one that plagued his campaign long before the June debate: Arab Americans, Muslims and liberals who are deeply resentful of his response to Israel’s war in Gaza. Many have said they will withhold their votes over his failure to call for a permanent ceasefire and end U.S. military aid to Israel.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave in the past nine months. Israel launched a punishing military assault on Gaza after Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.
Michigan is home to the nation’s largest Arab-American population, with about 300,000 people claiming ancestry in the Middle East or North Africa. Michigan’s Arab and Muslim community overwhelmingly supported Biden in 2020, when he won the state by 154,000 votes.
Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn — where Arab Americans make up the majority of the population — said he hasn’t spoken to White House officials in months about his constituents’ concerns about the war in Gaza. Even as Gaza has faded from the headlines in recent weeks, Hammoud said, the situation on the ground has continued to deteriorate and residents have not lost sight of the issue.
“Earlier this year, the president sent his senior White House officials to listen to the constituency he sought support from four years ago, and since then, no meaningful steps have been taken. Things have only gone backwards,” Hammoud said, referring to a Feb. 8 meeting in which senior national security officials visited Dearborn and met with the mayor and other officials.
“We are looking for a president with the backbone to call for a ceasefire,” Hammoud added. “This is not the president we were promised four years ago.”
Most public polls show Biden trailing Trump in Michigan, which is crucial to the president’s narrowing path to victory. Without it, he has little to no options.
Biden’s campaign argued in a memo obtained by The Washington Post on Thursday that it can win by focusing on the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.