Biden hailed the Czech leader as a “great ally” for his strong support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden made a fresh plea to Congress to pass aid for Ukraine during a visit by the Czech prime minister Monday, as a fight brews about whether it should be linked to funds for Israel.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he aims to advance wartime aid to Israel this week following Iran’s weekend attack, but the White House says it will block any bill that contains nothing for Kyiv.
“Congress has to pass continued funding” for Ukraine “and they have to do it now,” Democrat Biden said as he hosted Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the White House.
“There’s overwhelming support in the House and Senate if people will just let a vote take place.”
Biden hailed the Czech leader as a “great ally” for his strong support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, including securing nearly one million rounds of ammunition for Kyiv as US funding dries up.
“As the Czech Republic remembers, Russia won’t stop in Ukraine and the impact on NATO would be significant. Putin’s going to keep going, putting Europe, the United States and the entire world at risk if we don’t stop him,” Biden said.
After shaking hands with Biden in the Oval Office, Fiala thanked the US president for his leadership in mustering Western support of Kyiv.
“In 1968 I was a little boy, I saw Russian tanks on the streets of my town and I don’t want to see this again,” he said.
US assistance has languished in a divided Congress, with Johnson — an ally of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — blocking an earlier $95 billion in aid sought by Biden for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which had passed the Senate.
The White House ruled out any bill that only contained aid for Israel.
“We will not accept a standalone. A standalone would not help Israel and Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.
Johnson is walking a knife-edge on aid for Ukraine, as Trump and far-right lawmakers in the House of Representatives have grown skeptical of pouring billions of dollars into Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invading forces.
Ukraine has in recent months grown increasingly frustrated at delays in Western aid, including air defenses it says are urgently needed to repel deadly Russian attacks.
President will host Japanese PM and Philippines President in a White House summit set to bolster trilateral maritime cooperation in the South China Sea…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a White House summit set to bolster trilateral maritime cooperation in the South China Sea, a major move to counter Beijing.
The first-of-its-kind gathering by the United States and its two Asian allies is set for Thursday. It’s part of Biden’s strategy to stitch together existing bilateral alliances into broader “mini-laterals” to amplify U.S. influence in Asia.
The U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral focuses on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Last year, Biden hosted a similar meeting with Japan and South Korea to deal with the threat from North Korea.
Manila is keen to firm up trilateral maritime cooperation, namely plans for joint naval patrols by the three countries, a move that would likely trigger a strong reaction from Beijing.
“Joint patrols are something that we’ve already discussed extensively with Japan and the United States,” Philippines Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters in a briefing last week. “And I think that we’re hoping that this will come into fruition very soon.”
The White House declined to confirm such plans, reiterating only that the leaders would have much to discuss in their meeting.
“Certainly, the tensions in the South China Sea are not going away,” said national security spokesperson John Kirby in response to a question during a White House briefing Thursday. “That was an issue that was raised in the president’s call with President Xi just a couple of days ago.”
Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder also declined to confirm, telling VOA only that the goal of trilateral efforts in the South China Sea is to “ensure that the Indo-Pacific region remains free, it remains open and that there is security and stability throughout the region.”
However, an announcement on joint naval patrols is “widely expected” at the summit, said Gregory Polling, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. Following increased Philippine naval activities with regional partners including the United States, Japan and Australia, the trilateral naval patrol “is an obvious next step,” he said.
The meeting and expected announcement will come amid ramped-up tension in the South China Sea, where for weeks Chinese coast guard ships have deployed water cannons against Philippine vessels to block a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal.
Since 1999, Philippine soldiers have guarded a wrecked ship left on the shoal to maintain the country’s sovereignty claims over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The Philippines is a U.S. ally under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which means skirmishes between Manila and Beijing in the Spratlys are a problem for Washington.
“While we’re focused on Taiwan for obvious reasons, conflict between the U.S. and China remains more likely in the South China Sea,” Polling told VOA. “The ceiling on that might be lower; we’re not going to escalate into a general war in the South China Sea. But a lower-level military conflict is uncomfortably possible.”
The South China Sea is a vital passageway for Japan’s global supply chains, a reaffirming factor for Tokyo as Washington draws it into a more robust military role in the region.
“There is tremendous expectation for Japan,” said Shihoko Goto, director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center.
Tokyo is “at the heart of regional security,” she said, considering its involvement in the two trilateral formations and in the quadrilateral strategic security dialogue among Australia, India, Japan and the United States, also known as the Quad.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sworn in as Philippines’ 17th President.(photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbidV2368058591112&set=pb.100044537672013.-2207520000 )
For Japan’s Kishida, the summit will be another chance to flex his country’s diplomatic muscles as it stands beside Washington, its strongest ally.
Kishida wants to showcase the transformation of Japan’s bilateral alliance with Washington that serves peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific to a “global partnership that stands as the cornerstone of international liberal order,” said Yuki Tatsumi, co-director of the East Asia Program and director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center.
The key deliverables, she said, include plans for a modernized alliance command and control and plans for a consultative body for defense industrial cooperation.
Japan has been an anchor of various U.S. regional alliances and partnership in the region. Ahead of the summit, Tokyo and Manila are already in talks on a Reciprocal Access Agreement that would enhance shared military operations and training.
While many analysts applaud Biden on his strong and coordinated security approach for the region, they say Washington is lagging Beijing when it comes to building regional prosperity.
“We’re not seeing as much leadership on the economic front,” Goto said. “That will be something that there will be greater demand for.”
In previous meetings with Biden, Kishida reiterated Japan’s calls for Washington to join the 2018 Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
This is the latest step by the Biden Administration to get work-authorized individuals into the workforce, supporting the economies where they live…reports Asian Lite News
A temporary final rule (TFR) was recently announced by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), building on significant modernization efforts that have streamlined the eligibility of immigrants for work permits.
The TFR extends the automatic 180-day period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs) to 540 days.
This statement comes after upgrades that, over the previous 12 months, have drastically shortened EAD processing times.
The temporary measure announced on Thursday will prevent already work-authorized noncitizens from having their employment authorization and documentation lapse while waiting for USCIS to adjudicate their pending EAD renewal applications and better ensure continuity of operations for US employers.
This is the latest step by the Biden Administration to get work-authorized individuals into the workforce, supporting the economies where they live.
The landmark announcement, particularly benefiting South Asian immigrants, follows a recommendation made by Ajay Bhutoria, Advisor to President Biden on the White House Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Commission.
Bhutoria’s relentless advocacy efforts have consistently aimed at immigration reforms and green card backlog reduction, benefiting over 1 million South Asians.
Notably, his previous recommendations to the White House AANHPI Commission led to the launch of a pilot program by the State Department enabling H1B visa domestic renewal stamping within the USA.
The announcement by USCIS is a testament to the impact of community advocacy and collaborative efforts in shaping policies that directly impact immigrant communities.
“Over the last year, the USCIS workforce reduced processing times for most EAD categories, supporting an overall goal to improve work access to eligible individuals. However, we also received a record number of employment authorization applications, impacting our renewal mechanisms,” said USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou, according to an official press release.
“Temporarily lengthening the existing automatic extension up to 540 days will avoid lapses in employment authorizations. At the same time, this rule provides DHS with an additional window to consider long-term solutions by soliciting public comments, and identifying new strategies to ensure those noncitizens eligible for employment authorization can maintain that benefit.”
Asylum seekers and foreign nationals who are applying for permanent residency will be the two main beneficiary categories of the change.
According to a USCIS spokesperson, up to 800,000 immigrants were at risk of losing jobs, and their work permits overall if the new regulation was not implemented.
The move will also be advantageous to USCIS, which has been actively restoring its processing capacity after the Trump administration shifted the agency’s focus away from processing applications, which hindered its ability to make decisions quickly.
It is for the second time the Biden administration has announced an extension to 540 days. On October 27, 2023, the initial extension that was declared in 2022 came to an end, and the automatic extensions went back to 180 days, according to The Hill.
The new extension will apply to all immigrant categories that were covered by the 2022 one.(ANI)
The White House would not specify what could change about policy, but it could include altering military sales to Israel and America’s diplomatic backup on the world stage…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future U.S. support for Israel’s Gaza war depends on the swift implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers.
Biden and Netanyahu ‘s roughly 30-minute call just days after Israeli airstrikes killed seven food aid workers in Gaza added a new layer of complication to the leaders’ increasingly strained relationship. Biden’s message marks a sharp change in his administration’s steadfast support for Israel’s war efforts, with the U.S. leader for the first time threatening to rethink his backing if Israel doesn’t change its tactics and allow much more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The White House would not specify what could change about U.S. policy, but it could include altering military sales to Israel and America’s diplomatic backup on the world stage.
Netanyahu’s office said early Friday that his Security Cabinet has approved a series of “immediate steps” to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the reopening of a key crossing that was destroyed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Administration officials had said before that announcement that the U.S. would assess whether the Israeli moves go far enough.
Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the White House said in a statement following the leaders’ call. “He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
Biden also told Netanyahu that reaching an “immediate cease-fire” in exchange for the estimated 100 hostages that are still being held in Gaza was “essential” and urged Israel to reach such an accord “without delay,” according to the White House. Administration officials described the conversation as “direct” and “honest.”
Netanyahu’s office said the Erez crossing, which for years served as the only passenger terminal for people to move in and out of Gaza, would be temporarily reopened. It also said Israel would allow its Ashdod port to be used to process aid shipments bound for Gaza and allow increased Jordanian aid shipments through another land crossing. The announcement did not elaborate on quantities or types of items to be let in.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson welcomed the moves by Netanyahu, adding that the plan “must now be fully and rapidly implemented.”
“As the President said today on the call, U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers,” Watson said.
The leaders’ conversation comes as the World Central Kitchen, founded by restauranteur José Andrés to provide immediate food relief to disaster-stricken areas, called for an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of the group’s staff members, including an American citizen. The White House has said the U.S. has no plans to conduct its own investigation.
Separately, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels that U.S. support would be curtailed if Israel doesn’t make significant adjustments to how it’s carrying out the war. “If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in our policy,” he said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed the call for “tangible” and “concrete” changes to be taken by the Israelis beyond reiterating long stated calls for allowing additional aid to get into Gaza.
“If there’s no changes to their policy in their approaches, then there’s going to have to be changes to ours,” Kirby said. “There are things that need to be done. There are too many civilians being killed.”
The demands for Israel to bring the conflict to a swift close were increasing across the political spectrum, with former President Donald Trump, the Republicans’ presumptive nominee to face Biden this fall, saying Thursday that Israel was “absolutely losing the PR war” and calling for a resolution to the bloodshed. “Get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people. And that’s a very simple statement,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “They have to get it done. Get it over with and get it over with fast because we have to — you have to get back to normalcy and peace.”
Trump leads between two and eight percentage points in six battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. However, Biden is leading Trump by three points in Wisconsin…reports Asian Lite News
Ahead of the upcoming election scheduled for November, President Joe Biden is trailing behind his main opponent Donald Trump in six of the seven battleground states, according to a latest opinion poll.
Voters are broadly dissatisfied with the national economy and there are deep doubts about Biden’s capabilities and job performance, the survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal revealed.
Trump leads between two and eight percentage points in six battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. However, Biden is leading Trump by three points in Wisconsin.
In every state in the survey, negative views of the president’s job performance outweigh positive views by 16 percentage points or more, with the gap topping 20 points in four states. By contrast, Trump earns an unfavourable job review for his time in the White House in only a single state – Arizona – where negative marks outweigh positive ones by 1 percentage point, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to Real Clear Politics, which keeps tracks of all the major national polls, Trump and Biden are in a neck-to-neck fight this fall. An average of major national polls shows that Trump is leading Biden by 0.8 percentage points.
“Biden and Trump both easily became their party’s presumptive nominees last month, but each candidate will face a long and difficult campaign in a rematch of the 2020 contest. In a race expected to be razor-tight, a handful of battleground states will likely determine the winner,” The Hill newspaper said Wednesday.
Alzayat attended last year’s event, but he declined an invitation to break his fast with Biden this year, saying, “It’s inappropriate to do such a celebration while there’s a famine going on in Gaza.”…reports Asian Lite News
Last year, President Joe Biden hadn’t even spoken a word at the White House celebration of Ramadan before someone shouted out “we love you.” Hundreds of Muslims were there to mark the end of the holy month that requires fasting from sunrise to sunset.
There are no such joyous scenes during this Ramadan. With many Muslim Americans outraged over Biden’s support for Israel’s siege of Gaza, the White House chose to hold a smaller iftar dinner on Tuesday evening. The only attendees were people who work for his administration.
“We’re just in a different world,” said Wa’el Alzayat, who leads Emgage, a Muslim advocacy organization. “It’s completely surreal. And it’s sad.”
Alzayat attended last year’s event, but he declined an invitation to break his fast with Biden this year, saying, “It’s inappropriate to do such a celebration while there’s a famine going on in Gaza.”
After rejections from Alzayat and others, he said the White House adjusted its plans Monday, telling community leaders that it wanted to host a meeting focused on administration policy. Alzayat still said no, believing that one day was not enough time to prepare for an opportunity to sway Biden’s mind on the conflict.
“I don’t think the format will lend itself to a serious policy discussion,” he said Tuesday afternoon.
The refusal to break bread — or even share a room — with the president is fresh evidence of how fractured the relationship between Biden and the Muslim community has become six months after Israel and Hamas began their current war.
When the Democratic president took office three years ago, many Muslim leaders were eager to turn the page on Donald Trump’s bigotry, including his campaign pledge to implement a ” total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
But now Democrats fear that Biden’s loss of support among Muslims could help clear a path for his Republican predecessor to return to the White House. This year’s election will likely hinge on a handful of battleground states, including Michigan with its significant Muslim population.
“There are real differences between the two,” Alzayat said. “But emotionally, there may be no differences for some folks. And that’s the danger.”
He added, “It’s not good enough to tell people Donald Trump is going to be worse.”
Several Muslim leaders attended Tuesday’s meeting with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Muslim government officials and national security leaders. The White House would not name them.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “community leaders expressed the preference” of having a “working group meeting,” which she described as an opportunity to “get feedback from them.”
As far as the iftar, Jean-Pierre said that “the president is going to continue his tradition of honoring the Muslim community during Ramadan.”
No journalists were allowed to capture either the iftar or the meeting with community leaders, a change from previous years. Neither was listed on the president’s public schedule. Some people who had attended events in previous years, such as Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of Dearborn, Michigan, were not invited.
Outside the White House, activists gathered in the rain for their own iftar on Tuesday evening in Lafayette Park. Organizers distributed dates, a traditional food for Ramadan, for people to break their fasts at sundown.
The boycotting of Biden’s invitation is reminiscent of a trip that White House officials took to Detroit earlier this year. They faced an icy reception from Muslim American community leaders in the swing state, where more than 100,000 Democratic primary voters cast protest votes for “uncommitted” as part of an organized showing of disapproval for Biden’s approach to the war.
A similar campaign was underway in Wisconsin, another political battleground. Organizers encouraged residents to vote “uninstructed,” the equivalent of uncommitted, in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on social media that the “Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter” and called the decision “outrageous and abhorrent.”…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden is facing criticism from Donald Trump’s campaign and religious conservatives for proclaiming March 31 — which corresponds with Easter Sunday this year — as “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
The Democratic president issued the proclamation on Friday, calling on “all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”
But in 2024, the March 31 designation overlaps with Easter, one of Christianity’s holiest celebrations. Trump’s campaign accused Biden, a Roman Catholic, of being insensitive to religion, and fellow Republicans piled on.
“We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s press secretary. She assailed what she called the Biden administration’s “years-long assault on the Christian faith.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on social media that the “Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter” and called the decision “outrageous and abhorrent.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the Republicans criticizing Biden “are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric.”
“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates said. “President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit.”
Biden devoutly attends Mass and considers his Catholic upbringing to be a core part of his morality and identity. In 2021, he met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and afterward told reporters that the pontiff said he was a “good Catholic” who should keep receiving Communion.
But Biden’s political stances on gay marriage and support for women having the right to abortion have put him at odds with many conservative Christians.
One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me, says Biden at the Gridiron Club dinner, a Washington tradition that began in the 1880s…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden has joked about former President Donald Trump’s mental fitness during a speech at the Gridiron Club dinner, a Washington tradition that began in the 1880s.
“One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me,” Biden said on Saturday in front of more than 650 guests who included the Taoiseach of Ireland Leo Varadkar, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, whose US business could be banned by Biden.
“Don’t tell him, he thinks he’s running against Barack Obama, that’s what he said,” said Biden, 81, who also quipped that he was staying up way past his bedtime.
Trump’s campaign did not respond, though the 77-year-old Republican leader has also questioned Biden’s mental capacity to be president. The Democratic leader has deflected ongoing criticism that his memory is hazy and he appears confused.
It was the first time Biden had attended the traditional dinner during his presidency, and comes as the 2024 election looms and the November rematch between Biden and Trump heats up.
Biden’s appearance at the dinner, in which politicians and journalists trade humorous barbs in a white-tie formal affair, was the first time a president has attended in person since Trump himself came in 2018.
Biden reinforced the importance of the press, which he said is not “the enemy of the people”, in stark contrast to previous remarks by Trump about the news media.
He also spoke about the war in Ukraine with Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who attended Saturday’s dinner. “We will not bow down, they [Ukrainians] will not bow down and I will not bow down,” Biden said.
After his speech, Biden descended to the floor and took selfies with reporters and called one guest’s mother.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, representing the Democratic Party at the event, also spoke, as well as Utah Governor Spencer Cox, representing the Republican Party.
Cox, 48, joked that he was announcing his candidacy for the presidency “in 2052, when I still will be younger than both President Biden and President Trump”.
Trump tears into Biden administration
Meanwhile, Trump came out heavily against the Biden administration over the ‘heavy influx’ of migrants from the border and migrant crimes, while announcing that he will terminate every ‘open border policy’ if he comes to power, Fox News reported.
He was addressing a rally in the Dayton suburb of Vandalia, Ohio, during which he also mentioned the death of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
The former President further attacked Biden, blaming him for “allowing millions of migrants,” including, “violent gang members and gangsters,” into the US.
“Not one more American life should be lost to migrant crime. We can’t have another Laken…When I’m President of the United States, we will demand justice for Laken on day one. My administration will terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration,” Trump said at the rally.
He added, “The fastest way to reverse every single Biden disaster is to very simply put me back in office.”
Emphasising on the situation at the US-Mexico border, Trump said, “We’re going to fix it again.”
“Among my very first actions will be to stop the invasion of our country and send Joe Biden’s illegal aliens back home,” the former President added.
Further, during his Ohio speech, the former president warned of a ‘bloodbath’ in the country if he does not get elected in the polls set to be held later this year, Politico reported.
“Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. That’s going to be the least of it.” He said, “It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”
Trump often showcases a dark image of the nation to present his case against US President Joe Biden ahead of the presidential elections that are likely to be held in November. During his campaign events, Trump frequently brings up the events of January 6, as he still denounces the 2020 elections that he lost.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively, setting up a rematch with each other.
‘Trump wants another Jan 6’
Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign spokesperson, James Singer, said in a statement that former President Donald Trump “wants another January 6” after Trump on Saturday said that there would be a ‘bloodbath’ in the country if he lost the upcoming polls, reported CNN.
Condemning his statement, Singer emphasised that the US people would not make him win the presidential elections.
“American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge,” Singer said.
The Biden-Trump rematch has, thus, cleared its final qualifying threshold…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden clinched the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination in primaries held on Tuesday. His predecessor Donald Trump will have won the Republican nomination by the end of the day.
The Biden-Trump rematch has, thus, cleared its final qualifying threshold.
Biden crossed the Democratic Party threshold of 1,968 delegates with a win in the primaries in Georgia, which was critical to his win in the general election in 2020. Trump won the Republican Party primaries in Georgia as well but will have to wait for results from the three other states that held their primaries on Tuesday — Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington — to clinch the nomination.
Neither of them faced a real challenge for their respective party nominations although the Republican primaries had remained open till March 5 when Nikki Haley, the former Ambassador to the UN, suspended her campaign leaving Trump the only one in the field.
In an election system typical to the US, aspirants to the White House need to win enough delegates — every state primary or caucus grants them a certain number of delegates — who will officially anoint their nominees at their party conventions later in the year. But the Biden versus Trump presidential election gets technically underway on Tuesday night.
Biden cleared the 1,968 delegates on Tuesday and Trump will have his 1,215 by the end of the day.
“Just a few minutes ago, this team helped me clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the US,” Biden said in a statement.
Minnesota’s hastily organized protest vote push comes after more than 100,000 joined a similar protest in Michigan’s Democratic primary…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden has released a statement extending his wishes and prayers to Muslims in America and around the globe in the holy month of Ramadan.
Biden’s message came as Muslim and Arab American voters from several swing states pledged to withdraw support for the president in an “uncommitted” protest vote over his policy toward Israel.
The protest movement is asking Biden to back a permanent ceasefire and halt aid to Israel.
The president’s backing of Israel and his refusal to place conditions on the supply of military aid to the country have sparked outrage that could affect his chances of reelection against likely Republican rival Donald Trump.
Pressure on Biden has landed in Minnesota where activists hope a coalition of progressive Democrats and Muslim Americans will fuel a strong protest vote.
Minnesota’s hastily organized protest vote push comes after more than 100,000 joined a similar protest in Michigan’s Democratic primary.
Biden said: “The sacred month is a time for reflection and renewal. This year it comes at a moment of immense pain. The war in Gaza has inflicted terrible suffering on the Palestinian people.
“More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, including thousands of children. Some are family members of American Muslims, who are deeply grieving their lost loved ones today.
“As Muslims gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many; it is front of mind for me.
“The United States will continue to lead international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza by land, air, and sea. Earlier this week I directed our military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments of aid.
“We are carrying out airdrops of aid, in coordination with our international partners, including Jordan. And we’ll continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitates more routes and opens more crossings to get more aid to more people.
