The Joe Biden reelection campaign has taken several severe steps to curtail pro-Palestinian supporters from interrupting his speeches. The campaign has gone as far as keeping rallies small, avoiding colleges, and not informing the public of the location of events.
Throughout most of January, the President was met with chants of “genocide Joe” at least a dozen times. Pro-Palestinian protesters label the president “genocide Joe” because of his unfettered support of Tel Aviv as Israeli forces commit a brutal slaughter in Gaza.
In response to the protests, the campaign hired Doug Landry to prevent further demonstrations. Landry has worked on planning logistics for past presidential campaigns. According to NBC News, the President’s reelection team has taken “extraordinary steps” to thwart pro-Palestinian protests “by making [their events] smaller, withholding their precise locations from the media and the public until he arrives, and avoiding college campuses.”
“But the downside is that means he doesn’t reach as many voters,” a Biden ally said. “The point is to reach as many voters as you can, and those small events don’t.” Many of the president’s events have become “off the record” – meaning unpublished – stops that are with private businesses or residents.
The campaign is considering “hiring a private company to vet attendees” for a major event with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama later this month. The policy has succeeded in isolating Biden from critics of his support for Israel. However, there are downsides to this regarding his prospects for winning the 2024 election.
Democratic party campaigners have also increased the ticket prices for events featuring Biden, hoping to make it prohibitively expensive to protest the president.
One Democratic staffer said the president will eventually have to address the American people. “I think at some point you’ll see him having those big rallies and big crowds, because that ultimately is how you get to a large swath of voters,” a Democratic ally of the campaign explained.
The problem for the president is his policy of unconditional support for Tel Aviv as Israeli forces commit massacres in Gaza. A January poll found that around half of Biden’s 2020 voters believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. A recent Data for Progress poll found 67 % of Americans support a ceasefire, including roughly 80% of Democrats.
Additionally, a recent survey found that 56% of Democrat voters want a candidate who does not back sending military aid to Israel. President Biden supports sending an additional $14 billion in weapons to Tel Aviv.
This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.
