DETROIT (WXYZ) — Calls are growing louder with multiple protests ahead of President Joe Biden's stop Friday in Detroit. Some are urging the president to drop out of the election, and not all for the same reasons.
"Today, we're here to protest Joe Biden and he's not welcome in our city,” said Hawraa, a protester outside Rennaisance High School where Biden was speaking to supporters. "Yes, I'm calling for Biden to step down.”
Multiple pro-Palestinian organizations were making their voices heard outside the visit, critical of the president’s support for Israel during its war in Gaza.
“It would be hard to vote for a man who's sending bombs. Yesterday, we sent 500 pound bombs to Israel. It would be hard to vote for that,” said Lexi Zeidan, co- founder of Project 1948.
Their movement began with a push to vote uncommitted in the primary election and multiple protests outside his visits to Detroit. Now, more Democrats also say he lost their vote.
Hear more from a protester in the video below:
“It would be reckless and irresponsible to vote for Joe Biden because he’s not up for the job,” said Tom Moran, a 69-year-old from Fenton.
Moran drove to Detroit with a homemade sign that read "pass the torch," sending a similar message but for a different reason. Moran says he’s voted for the Democratic nominee for 50 years but after watching the first debate, that streak is in jeopardy.
“This is my chance with this sign to let him know I'm not an elite. I'm a school bus driver, I live in Michigan. You better listen because your gonna lose and you're going to go down in flames with the rest of the party,” Moran said.
While some Democratic members of Congress agree with Moran, Congresswoman Haley Stevens is keeping firm with Biden. She's confident he can keep Michigan blue.
“This is the president who has the vision, and you know what? He’s honest, he’s got tons of soul and I'll take that any day of the week,” Stevens said. “We're winning this thing. It's happening and it's happening from the place we call home.”
VIDEO: Voters react before President Biden's Detroit visit, about his reelection campaign
While these protesters won’t vote for Biden today, some say that could change. But many others agree that a new choice is needed and time is running out.
“There are people I've talked to who have completely written off Joe Biden for November, and there's people I've spoken to that are waiting for him to change course," Zeidan said. “I think right now they're (Democrats) in a really critical position to determine whether Biden is really equipped to lead our nation for the next four years."
“Time is short," Moran said. "If Biden is going to drop out, he needs to hear the message now. It needs to get through to him now.”
“Without our votes and what the country has witnessed, this president is going to be defeated,” said Hassan Abdel Salam, founder and executive director of Abandon Biden, an organization rallying against Biden over the war in Gaza. “A new slogan, to drop out now. Drop out now! Drop out now!”
