Democratic divide on Gaza war, campus protests hurting Biden, Reuters/Ipsos
poll finds
Send a link to a friend
[May 16, 2024]
By Jason Lange and James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats are deeply divided over President Joe
Biden's handling of both the war in Gaza and the U.S. campus protests
against it, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found, fraying the coalition that
he relied on four years ago to defeat Republican Donald Trump.
Some 44% of Democratic registered voters responding to the May 7-14 poll
said they disapprove of Biden's handling of the crisis. Democrats who
disapproved of his response were less likely to say they would vote for
Biden in the Nov. 5 election -- no small concern given his tight rematch
with Trump.
Biden has faced heavy criticism from some members of his own party for
continuing to provide arms to Israel even though more than 35,000
Palestinians have been killed in the country's offensive in Gaza. The
offensive began following the Oct. 7 attack where Hamas militants killed
1,200 people and abducted 252 others, according to Israeli tallies.
The flow of weapons has continued even after Biden last week delayed a
shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to
Israel over concerns they might be used for a major invasion of Rafah, a
town in southern Gaza.
The widespread campus protests, including some that have ended in
violence when university officials called in police to clear campus,
have undermined Biden's 2020 campaign pledge of a return to stability
after Trump's chaotic four years in office.
Trump, meanwhile, has been working to exploit the unrest over the issue,
urging Jewish voters, young voters and others unhappy with Biden's
performance in the White House to cross over to him.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/16/images/ads/current/library_sda_PROMGRAD_2024.png)
Overall, just 34% of registered voters approve of Biden's handling of
the war, including 53% of Democrats, 31% of independents and 22% of
Republicans.
Demonstrations against the war have not been limited to college
campuses, with protesters targeting Biden and other members of his
administration at public events for months.
The poll, conducted online, surveyed 3,934 U.S. adults nationwide,
including 3,208 registered voters. It had margins of error of about 2
percentage points for responses from all registered voters, about 3
points for registered Republicans and Democrats and about 4 points for
independents.
"This issue is a stone-cold loser for Biden," said Douglas Schoen, a
pollster and strategist who reviewed the Reuters/Ipsos poll results.
"He's losing votes from the left, right and center."
RFK FACTOR
Among the registered Democrats who disapprove of Biden's response to the
Gaza conflict, about 77% said they would vote for him in November,
compared to about 93% of those who approved of his Gaza response.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/051624PIX/news_a53.jpg)
Protesters raise the Palestinian flag outside the student union on
the Auraria Campus in Denver, Colorado, U.S., May 14, 2024.
REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/16/images/ads/current/aeps_lda_013124.png)
While those voters might not turn to Trump, they could choose not to
vote at all or cast a ballot for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose
independent campaign garnered the support of about 13% of registered
voters in the poll.
Schoen said there was a strong likelihood that the Gaza issue could
inflict serious damage on Biden in Michigan, a key battleground
state with a large Arab-American population and where Kennedy is on
the ballot.
Americans are also uncertain what U.S. policy toward Israel should
look like. When asked which party has the better policy, 39% of
Democrats and 43% of independents said they didn’t know.
Some 38% of registered Democrats say they support the
pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. universities and cities over Gaza,
compared to 38% who said they do not. Registered independents leaned
against supporting the protests 58% to 23%, while Republicans
overwhelmingly opposed the protests 81% to 8%.
Some 33% of Democrats agreed with a statement that the protests
reflected an antisemitic view, while 37% disagreed. Some 45% of
independents agreed with that statement and 30% disagreed. Some 67%
of Republicans agreed and 14% disagreed.
Trump has courted Jewish voters for years through efforts such as
relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. But he has also blasted
Jewish Democrats by suggesting they are disloyal to Israel.
Sam Markstein, political director of the Republican Jewish
Coalition, pointed to exit polls that show his party’s share of the
Jewish vote has been rising since 2016 and contended it would grow
further this year.
"This isn't a flash in the pan. It's a trend, long in the making,"
Markstein said.
Kenneth Wald, who studies the Jewish-American vote at the University
of Florida, said he was skeptical the conflict or the protests would
generate a large-scale shift away from Democrats.
Secular Jews in particular, Wald said, are likely to stay aligned
with Democrats if the alternative is Trump.
With regard to young voters, Wald said, "when the choice is between
Trump and Biden, they will vote for Biden even if they are unhappy
with the things he’s doing."
(Reporting by Jason Lange and James Oliphant; Editing by Scott
Malone and Deepa Babington)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/16/images/ads/current/ldn_smallsda_BUSINESSMAG_2023.png) |