Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign strategy is facing criticism for running contradictory ads aimed at winning both Jewish and Arab voters in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Michigan. As tensions escalate in the Middle East and Democrats face division over the Israel-Gaza conflict, Harris’s team has launched tailored ads to appeal to opposing sides of the debate.
In Pennsylvania, where Jewish voters may be decisive, Harris’s campaign is running ads emphasizing her support for Israel’s “right to defend itself.” The Pennsylvania-specific ads play excerpts from a recent Democratic National Committee speech, where Harris stated, “I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” This portion of her speech, however, omits sections where Harris discussed the human suffering in Gaza, focusing only on her defense of Israel amid the Hamas attacks.
Kamala Harris is running ads targeting Jewish voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan that touts how much she loves and is devoted to Israel.
She’s targeting Muslims and Arabs with ads with the opposite message: she’s horrified about suffering in Gaza.https://t.co/Jco6EYMFz5 pic.twitter.com/NOqdqSmfRU
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 1, 2024
Meanwhile, in Michigan, home to one of the nation’s largest Arab American populations, Harris’s campaign ads strike a markedly different tone. Targeting Arab voters increasingly critical of the Biden administration’s support for Israel, these ads include her comments on the “devastating” toll in Gaza. “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is heartbreaking,” she says in the Michigan-specific ads, which also quote her call to action on “our common humanity.”
🚨BREAKING: CNN reports that Kamala Harris’s campaign has been caught red-handed running contradictory ads to try and win both Jewish votes in PA and Arab votes in Michigan.
In Pennsylvania, Harris tells Jewish voters that she will stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself.”… https://t.co/YPvTPxdWHl
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 1, 2024
CNN reported on the discrepancies, noting the Pennsylvania ads slice together only portions of her remarks that emphasize a pro-Israel stance, leaving out language on Gaza’s suffering. In Michigan, however, Harris’s campaign chose the opposite approach, highlighting her calls for compassion toward Gaza’s people. This selective messaging has drawn accusations of pandering to each audience without offering a coherent stance on the Middle East crisis.
Republicans have capitalized on Harris’s divided approach, accusing her of abandoning principles in favor of political expediency. A Republican-linked group, Future Coalition PAC, has intensified its own ad campaigns in Wisconsin and Michigan, spending over $1.6 million to cast Harris as “pandering to Palestine” in one set of ads, while portraying her as an unwavering ally of Israel in another. Meanwhile, Harris continues to face heated protests from Muslim voters at campaign events, signaling her struggle to shore up support among these typically Democratic voters.
As the race tightens, Harris’s approach highlights the difficulty Democrats face in bridging stark divides over Middle East policy within their base. The effectiveness of this double-pronged strategy remains uncertain, and Harris’s mixed messaging could end up backfiring as both Jewish and Arab voters question the authenticity of her commitment to their causes.
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