The White House sought to play down the more than 100,000 Michigan Democrats who voted “uncommitted” in Tuesday night’s 2024 primary.
President Joe Biden handily won the contest, yet Michigan bears one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, and Biden’s support for Israel amid the fighting in Gaza led many voters to say they could not support him in the days and weeks leading up to the primary.
That sentiment led to more than 13% of all voters taking part in the Democratic primary on Tuesday in a critical swing state. Asked about Tuesday’s results during Wednesday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden “appreciates the people of Michigan coming out last night to make sure that their voices were heard yesterday.”
“He’s proud to have received more than 80% of the Democratic Party voters’ vote, and I think that’s really important as it relates to the uncommitted,” she continued.
In recent days, Jean-Pierre has pointed to top Biden officials traveling to Michigan to meet with Arab American community leaders as evidence the administration is taking their protests into account in crafting the U.S. response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, though Biden himself has not taken part in those meetings.
“We understand how personal this is, how this moment is incredibly painful, and we’re going to continue to have those conversations, and we’re going to make sure that we continue to listen and continue to engage,” Jean-Pierre added Wednesday. “As I mentioned earlier before, this is why it’s important to get this hostage deal, and it will be accompanied with a temporary ceasefire, and so we want to see that done. We want to see that moving forward. The president is going to continue to work on that 24/7, and let’s not forget we’re going to continue to work on making sure there is a two-state solution as well.”
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You can watch Wednesday’s briefing in full below.
