Staff Reports
Kamala Harris has decided to throw some political spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks, aiming her latest campaign pitch at Michigan’s Arab-American community. During a speech in East Lansing, she tried to acknowledge the heart-wrenching consequences of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas while also ensuring her political survival in the state that could be pivotal come election day.
In an effort to woo Arab-American voters, Harris spoke about the “devastation” happening overseas. It’s a classic case of a politician realizing she may have overcooked her administration’s response to a crisis and now needs to backtrack at lightning speed. As she promised to do “everything in her power” to bring an end to the suffering in Gaza, one can almost hear the collective eye-roll of many Michiganders who remember that these promises often come wrapped in a hefty dose of political double speak.
“I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza,” Kamala Harris says.
This is a very deliberate opening message in Michigan, home to the US’s largest Arab-American population. pic.twitter.com/1sjEIYroV2
— Ione Wells (@ionewells) November 4, 2024
The timing is clearly strategic. With Michigan being home to a substantial number of Arab and Muslim voters, it’s clear the clock is ticking for her campaign. After all, she and President Biden aren’t exactly showered with accolades over their handling of foreign policy. Frustrations are boiling in the community due to the lack of a strong stance on a cease-fire, and now she’s attempting to appeal to an electorate that she and her party have largely taken for granted in recent years.
Meanwhile, the polling numbers suggest Harris’s strategy is as shaky as a post-Thanksgiving turkey trot. Analysts indicate the race is deadlocked, with Trump leading among Arab-American voters nationwide. Her fumbling rhetoric might just send disenchanted voters scrambling back to the former president, a situation that could cost her dearly in the swing state. If Muslim voters and younger progressives find Harris’s flailing attempts to pacify their concerns less than genuine, they might opt to punctuate their dissatisfaction with a trip to the polls for the other side.
And as if the situation couldn’t get any more absurd, Harris found herself being heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters during her recent speech. Asking for any semblance of loyalty from the very group she was trying to appease didn’t earn her much favor. In fact, a coalition of Arab-American leaders came out swinging, branding her as a “pro-genocide candidate” who is merely engaged in “cease-fire teasing.” This is the kind of PR nightmare that razor-thin electoral margins are made of.
With over 242,000 Muslim voters in Michigan and the previous administration winning the state by a narrow margin, it remains to be seen how many of those votes will dance away from the Democrats given Harris’s newfound urgency. The insinuation that her late-stage activism is a mere political ploy instead of heartfelt compassion isn’t exactly doing her any favors either. One thing is certain: Michigan voters are far from fooled, and the political landscape may just shift beneath her feet.
