Professor Carliner: Biden's approach to Gaza war hurts Democrat votes

Geoffrey Carliner, professor at Boston University says Biden’s support of Israel and Netanyahu has hurt Harris among Muslim voters.

News ID: 5289

Date: 22 October 2024 - 11:39

TABNAK – Geoffrey Carliner, professor at Boston University says: Biden’s support of Israel and Netanyahu has hurt Harris among Muslim voters in Michigan, one of the seven swing states, even though Harris will resist Netanyahu’s policies if she becomes president more than Trump would.
Following is the text of the interview:

Q: After Harris's decent growth in the polls after entering the Democratic Party's election campaign, new polls indicate that Trump's votes are close to him. What is the reason for this?

A: The US election is extremely close.  Very few voters are undecided.  The winner will be decided by a small number of voters in seven states where Harris and Trump are very close.  It is impossible to predict with any confidence who will win.

Q: Some argue that Biden's approach to the Gaza war has hurt the votes of people of color and minorities. What do you think?

A: Biden’s support of Israel and Netanyahu has hurt Harris among Muslim voters in Michigan, one of the seven swing states, even though Harris will resist Netanyahu’s policies if she becomes president more than Trump would.  (The percentage of Muslim voters in Michigan is higher than in other states.)  Biden’s policies toward Israel are much less important for other minority voters.

Q: In general, Harris could not separate himself from Biden, and in the opinion of American voters, he is the continuation of Biden's policies. If Trump can be considered a changer of the status quo. Is this assessment correct?

A: If elected, Harris will continue most of Biden’s policies, with very small changes.  If Trump wins, his policies will be more or less like the policies of his first term as president.

Q:  Considering the current trend and the nearness of the election time, will we see a fundamental change in the votes of the people in the key states? What can change? And your ultimate prediction of the election winner?

A: The election is too close to predict.  No one knows who will win. As I mentioned in the answer to question one, the competition is very close and it is impossible to predict who will win the election.