WASHINGTON The image of his emotional hug with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Oct 18 will not only haunt, but probably also outlive United States President Joe Biden as a defining moment of his presidency.
The president's seemingly unqualified support for Israel has collapsed his backing among a section of the electorate that has for decades reliably voted Democrat Arab Americans. With margins as thin as a few thousand votes in just a few crucial swing states, that may well crash his 2024 bid for another term in office.
"We feel betrayed," a former Barack Obama administration official, an Arab American who declined to be named, told The Straits Times.
"There's no other word for it; it's a betrayal." A poll of 500 Arab Americans between Oct 23 and 27 found that the community's support for Mr Biden has plummeted from 59 per cent to 17 per cent - a precipitous 42 percentage point decrease from 2020.
There are an estimated 3.7 million Americans of Arab descent.
The survey by political polling firm John Zogby Strategies asked respondents whom they would vote for if the election for president of the US were held today.
Of those surveyed, 17 per cent said they would vote for Mr Biden, and 40 per cent said they would vote for Donald Trump - the beleaguered former president and still presumptive Republican nominee for 2024.
The poll was commissioned by the Arab American Institute (AAI), a civic engagement organisation that conducts political and policy research.
"Outcomes in very hotly contested delegate-rich swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia can be determined by margins of only a few hundred or thousands of votes, where the Arab-American vote can be the difference," Mr John Zogby, senior partner at John Zogby Strategies, told The Straits Times.
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin November 11, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin November 11, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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