We’re less than a year away from arguably the most important election of our lifetimes. And with a million variables — including four criminal indictments — the results have never felt less certain.
On the most recent episode of The 411, The Root sat down with political communications strategist Nina Smith to try to make sense of it all, starting with last week’s election.
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Despite low approval ratings for President Joe Biden, Democrats did incredibly well in the November election. They flipped the Virginia statehouse and even held on to the governorship in deep-red Kentucky. Black Democrats, including Representative Gabe Amo, Councilmember-elect Yusef Salaam and Mayor Cherelle Parker in Philadelphia, celebrated big wins.
But what explains Democrats off-year election success? One word: abortion.
“Running on abortion isn’t a bad thing; it’s the right thing,” said Smith. “Running on protecting our rights and our freedoms is actually a winning message.”
While Smith insists that Democrats need to run clearly on issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, she says that doesn’t mean they can assume that fear of losing civil rights will be enough to drive voter turnout among Black voters and other key groups.
“They cannot count on abortion being on the ballot; they cannot count on people being upset about Donald Trump,” said Smith. “What they need to work on and make sure that they’re doing is good old fashioned campaign fundamentals, knocking doors, engaging with voters and making sure they understand what this election is all about.”
A looming political concern for Biden is growing dissent among Democrats over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Over 11,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7th, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Almost half have been children. Roughly 1 in every 200 Palestinians in Gaza has died since Israel began bombing the region. The United Nations says that by the end of the day on Wednesday, roughly 70 percent of the population will not have access to clean water.
Despite the rising death toll, the Biden administration has firmly supported Israel’s actions in the region, calling for additional funds to be sent to support Israel’s efforts. This has put him at odds with progressives of color in Congress, including Congresswomen Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, who’ve called for a ceasefire. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre went so far as to say calls for a ceasefire were “repugnant” and “disgraceful.”
Smith said this is a terrible strategy for the White House. “Instead of attacking their own party for urging an end to the conflict,” she said in a statement, “the administration should be focused on diplomacy and maintaining our status as a leader internationally.”
After our interview wrapped, Biden dug his heels in even further in defense of Israel, stating there was “no possibility” of a ceasefire. “This is actually the opposite direction I thought the administration was moving when we spoke,” said Smith, who expressed optimism that the White House would listen to the voices calling for peace during our 411 interview.
“This is the wrong way to go. This unequivocal support for Israel will leave the U.S. isolated on the world stage and aligned with a country actively bombing civilians and children,” said Smith. “They shouldn’t reject the notion of a ceasefire outright. This will only exacerbate the tense political atmosphere here in the US.”
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