Can Biden win hearts of Arab Americans?

US President Biden sought to lean into his strengths during a Thursday trip to Michigan, even as the discontent among the state’s large Arab American population over his handling of the situation in Gaza loomed over the visit.

The tensions Biden is facing with Arab American voters in Michigan lurked just on the periphery of his visit.

Biden’s itinerary did not take him into Dearborn, where Arab Americans make up a majority of the population, nor did it include any meetings with Arab American leaders.

Rashida Tlaib, one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Gaza and who represents a nearby district, did not accompany Biden on the trip.

Community members gathered Wednesday night in nearby Dearborn to protest Biden’s visit. They congregated near the union hall in Warren waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs that read “Abandon Biden”.

The publicly available White House schedule for Thursday’s trip was vague. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters she was not aware of any particular concerns.

“I do want to say, more broadly, that the president has met with Americans with varying opinions about the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” she said aboard Air Force One. “Officials at the White House are also in regular contact with Muslim and Arab American leaders in Michigan and across the country.”

Jean-Pierre said senior Biden administration officials will travel to Michigan in the coming days to hear directly from community leaders on a range of issues that are important to them and their families, including the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Biden has been grappling with frustration among Arab Americans and other voters who have been outraged by his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

Biden has steadfastly supported Israel’s right to respond to the Hamas attacks and has rebuffed calls for a cease-fire, instead pushing for humanitarian pauses to allow supplies into Gaza and for the release of hostages and urging Israel to minimize the impact on civilians.

Protesters have followed Biden wherever he has traveled, disrupting unrelated events to call for a cease-fire and condemn his handling of the situation in Gaza.

Biden’s support among Arab American voters plunged to just 17 percent in October, just after the war started, with 25 percent in a poll conducted by the Arab American Institute saying they weren’t sure who they would vote for if the election were held then.

Michigan is a crucial swing state, one Biden carried in 2020 by 154,000 votes against Trump. But recent polling out of the state has shown him trailing Trump narrowly. A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday showed Trump ahead there by 5 percentage points.