'Uncommitted' Michigan voters unmoved by Gaza portion of Harris’ DNC speech: 'Going to put Trump in office'
'You’re bombing our families with our money and just one good speech is going to win us over again? I don’t think so,' said one woman from Dearborn
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Uncommitted" voters from Dearborn, Michigan, shredded the portion of Vice President Kamala Harris’ DNC speech mentioning Israel and Gaza, with one warning she may lose enough support from them to lose the election.
During the Democratic National Convention, Harris spoke about the October 7 terrorist attack and the Israel-Hamas war that followed.
"President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC national correspondent Yasmin Vossoughian spoke to several "uncommitted" voters, an anti-Israel movement of traditionally Democratic voters threatening to withhold their support in November, for their reaction.
Multiple voters spoke about their frustrations with the Biden-Harris administration and their hesitancy to support a future Harris presidency. (MSNBC)
"She walked the line. First, she talked about Israel and how October 7th was horrible. Yeah, it was horrible, but it felt like she kind of downplayed what’s been going on the last 10 months," one man said.
ANTI-ISRAEL VOTERS WARN HARRIS WON'T GET THEIR VOTE WITHOUT A CEASE-FIRE: ‘THIS IS OUR LEVERAGE’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another man, wearing a keffiyeh, a Middle Eastern scarf associated with support for the Palestinian cause, said, "If she would have called for a permanent ceasefire, saying, ‘We do need a permanent ceasefire,’ I think that for me, it would’ve been different."’
"In the Arab and Muslim community, we’ve been voting for Democrats a long time," he added. "We’ve hosted Democrats in our homes, we’ve donated to them, we’ve fundraised for them, and we’ve knocked on doors for them, but at this point our money is going to our families overseas who are dying every single day who need aid because of the direct results of this administration which she’s part of."
A woman wearing a headscarf and keffiyeh gave a decisive condemnation of Democrat support for the war in Gaza as it is currently being waged.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You’re bombing our families with our money and just one good speech is going to win us over again? I don’t think so," she said.
Displaced Palestinians reside at a makeshift tent camp in the Muwasi area of southern Gaza on Jan. 1, 2024. (Fatima Shbair, File)
She warned this could have severe electoral consequences for Harris, "They’re losing voters who are going to put Trump in the office, that’s on them. That’s not on us. They are distancing their voters from them. They are not listening to their constituents. It’s on them. It’s not on us."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vossoughian reported that while they were more decisively against voting for Biden during the Michigan primary in February, "This time around they seem more open" to supporting Harris.
"They really want her to differentiate herself from President Biden in the next 70+ days, to really make a note to them where she stands on the issues and, as they say, call for a permanent ceasefire, and let her actions represent her words," Vossoughian said.
One hundred thousand people voted "uncommitted" in the Michigan Democratic primary after a campaign encouraged a protest vote over Biden's stance on Israel.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michigan is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the U.S.