Biden campaign official in Michigan: Israel-Hamas war not likely to end 'anytime soon'

Flint Township — A top Biden campaign official maintained Monday that President Joe Biden was not ignoring the concerns of Michigan residents over the deaths of civilians in the Israel-Hamas war, but he doesn't expect the conflict is "going to end anytime soon."

Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu said the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group is "troublesome and problematic." But no one's concerns are being dismissed and the Democratic president is doing the best he can to protect American interests, Landrieu said.

"This conflict is going to be a long conflict," Landrieu said at a Biden campaign event in Flint Township. "I don’t expect that it’s going to end anytime soon. I think the primary focus of the president has been to get the hostages released. He's communicated very strongly in ways that he's already spoken about to try to find a pause so they actually can do that.”

Landrieu urged Democratic voters planning to cast a protest ballot for "uncommitted" in the Feb. 27 presidential primary to consider the choice they face in the November general election, when former President Donald Trump is favored to be the GOP candidate.

"This election is going to be about a choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden," Landrieu said. "And the differences between an America under Joe Biden and Donald Trump are vastly different.”

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, a Flint Township Democrat who attended the campaign stop with Landrieu Monday, echoed the former New Orleans mayor's thoughts on the potentially thousands of Michigan Democrats who could be casting an undecided ballot in the primary.

"I share some of the concerns that the community has raised, I’ll be transparent about that," Kildee said. "But I know this for sure, abstaining from the choice does not move us forward and does not get these issues addressed. This is a stark choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and anyone who is on the sidelines of that argument is in the wrong place.”

State and national organizers have conducted extensive outreach in the past few weeks to encourage Democratic voters to cast an "uncommitted" primary ballot in protest of continued U.S. support for Israel in its war with with the militant group Hamas. Israel's military assault in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 29,000 Palestinian civilians, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Thirty-nine state and local officials, including five state lawmakers, have pledged to vote "uncommitted" on Democratic primary ballots. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, endorsed the effort Saturday and Detroit Councilwoman Mary Waters announced Monday she'd join the list of elected officials planning to mark uncommitted.

Other prominent Democrats pledging to vote uncommitted include Dearborn Mayor Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, Michigan House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash of Hamtramck, Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi and Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib.

The movement comes as Michigan's large Arab American and Muslim community and other Democratic officials have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to Biden's continued support for Israel, with many demanding Biden call for a ceasefire.

Arab American community leaders and elected officials last month canceled a meeting with the Biden campaign, but later agreed to one in Dearborn with several high-ranking White House officials.

More:Uncommitted vote aims to spurn Biden in Michigan but how forceful will protest vote be?

Landrieu pointed to that meeting with Dearborn area officials as proof the president was empathetic and receptive to their concerns.

Earlier in the press conference Monday at a Michigan Education Association office in suruban Flint, Landrieu emphasized the role the state would play in the election was pivotal.

"Michigan, really when this election is held in November, could be the decider," Landrieu said. "This very state could determine who the next president of the United States is gonna be and... be the decider of what direction this country is going to go in.”

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

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