Gaza War Protesters Dog Biden During Florida Fundraising Swing

President Joe Biden made the final stop of his Florida fundraising swing at an upscale event in Pinecrest on January 30, with tickets starting at $3,300 per person. The Biden campaign raked in $6.2 million in contributions at the soirée in South Miami-Dade, according to host Chris Korge, a real estate developer, attorney, and finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund.

"Imagine the nightmare if Trump returned to office," Biden told those assembled. "Trump and his MAGA friends are dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back into the past, not leading us to the future; refusing to accept the results of a legitimate election; seeking, as Trump did, to 'terminate' elements of the Constitution; embracing political violence — embracing it."

While Democrats have mustered a measure of unity through their opposition to Donald Trump as the former president faces criminal charges for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the Biden campaign must overcome a rift among progressives, particularly young voters, over his stance on the Israeli-Hamas war. Protesters nationwide, many of them diehard liberals, have railed against the Biden administration in recent months for supplying munitions and military supplies to Israel, including a recent $147 million emergency arms sale, as the civilian death toll in Gaza climbs.

Wherever Biden went in Miami, Gaza war protesters followed.

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Though the administration says it has pressed Israel to reduce operations that could result in Palestinian casualties, stateside detractors who would otherwise turn out for Biden in November have taken to the streets to criticize him over what they see as complicity in Israel’s brutal campaign to rout Hamas from its stronghold in Gaza. The tension was on full display last night as Biden’s motorcade made its way across South Florida: Wherever Biden went in Miami, opponents of Israel's role in the Palestinian conflict followed.

In Pinecrest, a group gathered in a residential area near Korge's home, waving signs and flags.

"We are demanding that the United States stop funding Israel," 28-year-old Valentina Jadue told New Times. "The thought of money being raised in your neighborhood is a dishonor to the community of South Florida."

Some who attended the antiwar rally said Biden’s pro-Israel stance will be a deal breaker come Election Day, notwithstanding a strong disdain for Trump.

"I voted for Biden, but I will not be voting for him again," Krishna Madan, a South Florida resident in his 60s, said. "This issue is the last straw. He's done some decent things domestically — helping students with their loans, and labor issues — but I think all of that is outweighed when he is supporting Israel."

Madan said he came out in person to let the fundraiser’s host know that Biden's victory could hinge on foreign policy in Israel. "It’s a message to him and to his neighbors," Madan said.
Biden stopped in Pinecrest after swinging by the Pelican Club in Jupiter, about 100 miles to the north, earlier in the day. His campaign had $117 million in its war chest as of mid-January, having raised $97 million in the last quarter of 2023, according to Bloomberg.

The Biden administration is walking a fine line on foreign policy amid the Gaza conflict. While the incumbent president risks losing support from pro-Israel Jewish Democrats by criticizing the far-right government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he is alienating many young progressives by not joining calls for a cease-fire.

A New York Times/Siena College poll shows broad disapproval for the Biden administration’s handling of the war, particularly among voters aged 18 to 29, nearly three-fourths of whom expressed disapproval. The poll marked a wide swing in general support for Biden in that demographic, with 49 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Trump and 43 percent for Biden. (In New York Times/Siena College's July poll, months before the war broke out, Biden held a 10-point lead among voters in the 18 to 29 age group.)

The president has at times vented frustration with the Israeli military’s tactics in the war that followed Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack and kidnapping of Israeli hostages. Last month, for instance, Biden said at a fundraiser that Israel was losing international support because of the "indiscriminate bombing that takes place."

John Kirby, communications coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council, appeared to hold firm on the administration’s support for Israel’s military campaign in an interview with the New Yorker weeks later.

"Number one, we want to make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against the threat emanating from Gaza, which is of course by Hamas. And Hamas still represents a viable threat to the Israeli people," Kirby said.

In Pinecrest, protester Glory Jones recalled the brief moment the crowd caught a glimpse of Biden departing the fundraiser en route to Miami International Airport.

"It was my first motorcade I’ve ever witnessed," Jones said. "It carries this air of significance, but I'm not lost in awe or admiration. We’re here condemning this man."

Some protesters hopped in their vehicles and joined a caravan heading up U.S.1 toward the airport, waving signs and Palestinian flags out the windows, music blasting and horns blaring.

While Biden’s Miami visit was publicized well in advance, some Pinecrest residents didn't expect the large, vocal turnout of opposition.

"I think it's annoying," one resident told New Times, venting his frustration that folks were gathering and chanting in his neighborhood deep into the night. He said he believes they have the right to their opinions but "should have gotten a permit or gone to the park across the street." Another resident complained to police stationed near the protesters, saying, "They have no right to do that!"

As the presidential primary season heats up and Biden ramps up his re-election bid, he appears to face an uphill battle in Florida. Trump won the state in 2016 and 2020, and in defeating Trump in 2020, Biden secured only 54 percent of the state’s Latino — significantly lower than his national average of 63 percent.

In a state where 17 percent of the voting population is Latino and Republicans have been consolidating support among the large Cuban-American voting bloc, any Democratic candidate's ability to make inroads with Latinos is critical to the prospect of reclaiming Florida.

Pending Florida ballot initiatives on abortion rights and marijuana legalization are almost certain to drive left-leaning voters to the polls, along with progressives' veritable terror at the prospect of another Trump presidency. But the crowds of young protesters who turned out to jeer Biden during his swing through Florida at January's end are indicative of a force to be reckoned with in November.