The 2024 presidential election in the US  saw an unexpected twist when Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, announced his intention to take over Gaza. This move was met with shock and dismay from many, particularly from those who advocate for Palestinian rights.

        Uncommitted leaders, who played a big role in the 2024 election by rallying against Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,  found themselves in a difficult spot. Many of these leaders had chosen not to back any candidate in the election. And had chosen to ignore the crystal clear reality that Donald Trump had made it clear he had different plans for Palestine.

        Some Palestinians leaders believe that  the American political system is "broken" and that neither Republicans nor Democrats looked out for Palestinians,  but is that the truth.

        But a few leaders like Layla Elabed, a co-chair of the “uncommitted” movement, had a different view. She argued that both Democrats are responsible for Trump's rise to power because of and their failure to address concerns of the Palestinian people. She felt Democrats had a chance to win over voters but chose not to. She was upset by Trump’s remarks.

        Trump’s comments only added to the criticism that the Democrats already faced from pro-Palestinian groups in the election. Even though Trump’s record on the Middle East had been more hostile to the Palestinian cause.

        Many democrats blamed the pro-Palestinian groups for helping Trump win. They believe that the groups effectively mobilized voters to reject the only viable alternative to Trump, by turning Democratic leaning voters away from Harris. But is it the groups fault or is it the fault of the Democratic party.

        The issue with this is that Democrats who are pro-Palestinian may not vote for Democrats if they have to choose between Trump and a democrat. The political chess game had turned into a game of  chicken.

        In the city with the largest Arab American population, Dearborn, Michigan, Trump won by around 2, 600 votes in November, while Biden had won by over 17, 500 votes four years earlier. This shift was partly due to the uncommitted movement’s efforts to sway voters away from Biden and Harris.

        There was even more trouble when Biden and Harris, while acknowledging the concerns about the soaring death toll in Gaza, were unwilling to upend decades of U. S. policy. This stance led those who were pro-Palestinian down a different path.

        The uncommitted movement, like a few other groups, chose not to endorse Biden or Harris. But they did end up helping elect someone who wants to turn Gaza into a parking lot.

        Trump’s proposal to seize control of Gaza was met with strong opposition from some,   nearly 100, 000 Michiganders chose to vote "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary. They did this to express their discontent with Biden's administration and the U. S. support for Israel's actions. The Biden and Harris administration acknowledged the concerns about the soaring death toll in Gaza, but they were unwilling to change decades of U. S. policy.

        Before Trump’s comments, the issue was already contentious.  The city with the largest Arab American population in the country, Dearborn, Michigan, voted for Trump after backing Biden by over 17, 500 votes four years earlier.  This indicates  the 2024 election saw a significant shift in voter sentiment. Biden's administration did not meet the expectations of many voters.

        But even if Trump was hostile to Palestinians, they needed to ‘punish’ Biden and Harris.  The warnings didn’t work. “It was striking that there wasn’t any recognition of the real life and death stakes, ” said an official. “Everyone respected that there was grief and pain. But how do you ignore being told countless times, ‘Here is a direct quote of Trump saying he wants Gaza leveled’? ”.

        The Harris campaign also faced internal dissent about whether she needed to take a more aggressive stance for Gaza. A Harris organizer who worked on youth turnout said that senior campaign officials gave them an order: When they sent out mass volunteer or fundraising emails and people replied by asking about Gaza, they were told to mark it as “no response. ” The result? They seldom ended up engaging with voters on that issue.

        “We also didn’t create a new category for Gaza responses out of fear that category would be leaked. Instead we were told to mark them as ‘no response, ’” the organizer said, faulting top Harris campaign leaders for failing to address the issue. “The only ‘clowns’ out there are those who were in senior leadership and decided to abdicate on this issue, who silenced a Palestinian speaker at the DNC, and who told us to ignore it every time a voter asked us about Gaza. ”

        Salima Suswell, the CEO of Black Muslim Leadership Council, which was on the sidelines when Biden was the nominee but eventually endorsed Harris, said Trump’s remarks were “sadly unsurprising for many of us who campaigned against Trump who saw him as the international threat that he is. ”

        “Trump should have been honest with Muslim and Arab leaders, namely in Michigan, when he promised to be anti-war and that he would end the genocide, ” Suswell said. “We see through what he is saying. He has no interest in protecting Palestinian lives and he never has. ”

The Unexpected Turn.

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