Hundreds of people in San Francisco participate in protest supporting Palestinians
Hundreds of protesters took over the intersection of Market Street and Powell to protest Biden's support of Israel while he is in San Francisco.
Danielle Childs voted for President Biden in 2020, but after seeing his administration's response to the war between Israel and Hamas, she said the president has lost her vote in 2024.
"I am not voting for Biden. I don't care if that means Trump ends up winning. I will not vote for him," said Childs.
Childs was one of hundreds of protesters that took over the intersection of Market Street and Powell Tuesday night, protesting Biden's support of Israel while he's in town for the APEC Summit.
"It's absolutely disgusting. I feel like I'm in some fascist state where the president is not acknowledging at all these innocent civilian lives," said Childs.
Many of the protesters said they felt the same way and said they will not vote for President Biden in 2024 even if that benefits a candidate like former President Trump.
"The lesser of two evils doesn't really make sense in this situation. You literally have a president who's supporting genocide and won't even utter the word ceasefire," said Sabina Wildman, an organizer of the protest.
President Biden does, however, have the support of pro-Israel voters. Earlier in the day on Tuesday, thousands of people marched in Washington DC showing their support for Israel and the US response to the war.
Nolan Higdon, a professor of communication at Cal State University East Bay, said whatever policy the president chooses in this war risks him losing voters. In an election that is expected to be very close, this could be one of the issues that swing the election.
"Losing around the margins on an issue like Israel-Palestine could prove consequential. We're only talking about tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states," said Higdon.
That's why protestors like Childs said they are going to keep the pressure on. No matter who ends up in the White House in 2024, they want that president to take their cause seriously.
"The goal right now is to keep the discomfort and, anyone in the White House, they need to constantly hear this message and be worn down," said Childs.
