President Joe Biden’s visit to Michigan to promote his economic agenda has been on the White House calendar for weeks, but the recent outbreak of violence in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel risks overshadowing a carefully planned trip.
On Tuesday, Biden will visit a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab-American populations in the United States, to promote the new F-150 electric vehicle. Dearborn was among a slew of cities around the world that held protests in support of Palestinians in Gaza over the weekend.
“Tuesday, he will be here,” one speaker at the Dearborn demonstration said. “We have heard from him. He will hear from us.”
Hundreds marched in Dearborn on Sunday, but it’s unlikely they’ll get close to Biden on Tuesday. He’s at the Ford River Rouge Complex, where the new F-150 Lightning is being manufactured. This is Ford’s electric vehicle response, aiming to convert America’s best-selling pickup truck into a hybrid built by union workers. The President will get a first look at the truck, which will be unveiled formally Wednesday from Ford World Headquarters. The truck is set to go on sale next year.
The trip was planned long before the deadly conflict in the Middle East erupted. However, protesters are planning a large demonstration near Biden’s visit on Tuesday.
According to a top Biden ally in Michigan, no meetings are currently planned between the President and local leaders who are calling for an end to violence against Palestinians and urging Biden to put more pressure on Israel.
“The timing of the trip couldn’t be worse, but this is not why he’s coming,” a top Democrat in Michigan says, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the feelings among Palestinian-Americans in Dearborn. “The anger toward President Biden is very real.”
The Biden administration is under increased scrutiny for its response to the escalating violence in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which has resulted in an increasing number of civilian deaths.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, approximately 3,150 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israeli territory since the outbreak of hostilities eight days ago. According to the Israel Defense Forces, approximately 460 of these rockets landed inside Gaza.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 10 Israelis have been killed as a result of rocket fire from Hamas’ military wing as of Monday. The death toll in Gaza has risen to 212, with 61 children among them, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
The increase in civilian casualties is causing concern within the White House, as officials work the phones with regional partners.
Biden, a longtime supporter of Israel and one of its most vocal defenders in the US Senate, has maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks.
The White House has also resisted Democratic lawmakers’ calls to publicly pressure Israel into a ceasefire, despite Israel’s assertion that the violence will continue.
However, during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Biden “expressed his support for a ceasefire and discussed US engagement with Egypt and other partners toward that end,” according to a carefully worded statement from the White House.
In a video released earlier Monday, Netanyahu also stated that “the directive is to continue to strike at terrorist targets.”
According to officials, the Biden administration places a high value on Egypt and Qatar’s efforts to mediate an end to the violence.
According to officials, the Biden administration places a high value on Egypt and Qatar’s efforts to mediate an end to the violence.
According to the White House, Biden raised the issue of civilian casualties in recent phone calls with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In addition, the White House has expressed increased concern about the conflict in its public messaging.
“We recognize and agree that watching the lives lost of Palestinian children, of these families, the fear you see in the eyes of the Israeli people, it is heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing on Monday.
Psaki also stated that the White House is pursuing “quiet and intensive” diplomacy to end the violence in the Middle East, despite calls from Democrats and foreign allies to speak out more forcefully on the issue.
The trip to Michigan comes as the Biden administration works to promote Biden’s economic agenda and gain public support for the President’s multi-trillion dollar infrastructure proposals. According to the White House, Biden wants Congress to make real progress on the infrastructure proposal by Memorial Day, which is less than two weeks away.
Biden’s visit to the state is his second since taking office. In February, he paid a visit to the Pfizer plant in Portage. Michigan was one of the upper Midwest states that Biden helped turn blue last November, defeating former President Donald Trump by nearly 3 percentage points.
