Bushnell Incident Likely to Have Major Ramification in US Presidential Election

American airman Aaron Bushnell’s act of immolating himself in protest against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has shaken the American public’s imagination. What impact will it have on the US presidential election scheduled to be held this year? An expert explains to ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan.

New Delhi: The incident in which Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the US Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington in protest against Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza will be a major cause of worry for US President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in this presidential election year.

Bushnell arrived at the embassy shortly before 1 pm on Sunday and initiated a live stream on the Twitch video platform. The disturbing video of his action circulated widely on various social media platforms, provoking reactions from people, who were appalled by Bushnell’s unconventional protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The conflict has resulted in significant casualties, with reports indicating 30,000 deaths, including thousands of women and children.

“I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” Bushnell can be heard saying on the video. “I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers, is (is act) not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

Bushnell then poured an accelerant over him and set himself on fire. He later succumbed to his injuries. “This incident will reinforce the seriousness of public opinion against the US policies in the war in Gaza,” Robinder Sachdev, president of the independent think tank Imagindia, told ETV Bharat. “The implications will be more for the Democratic Party in terms of the presidential election this year.”

Sachdev said the Americans of Arab origin and the youth in general in the US are unhappy with the Biden administration’s response to the Gaza war. “Given the importance of the presidential election, it is a strong message to the Biden election campaign,” he said. “This is an extreme step (taken by Bushnell). It definitely shows the growing opposition to Biden’s policies in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.”

In fact, Biden may not have to wait, too, long how his policies on the war in Gaza will affect his prospects in the upcoming elections. According to Sachdev, the Biden campaign will be worried about the state of Michigan, which is home to the largest population of Arab Americans. The Democratic primaries are being held in Michigan on February 27.

“Michigan is a state where a difference of just 20,000-30,000 votes can lead to a candidate winning or losing,” Sachdev said. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump defeated his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by a margin of just 11,000 votes. However, in the 2020 presidential election, Biden defeated Trump by a margin of 1,50,000 votes.

This time though things might not be the same for Biden in Michigan. According to Sachdev, many of Biden’s earlier supporters are now saying that they are no longer committed to him. According to a report in the Voice of America, in response to the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, certain Democrats are urging voters to select the “uncommitted” option on the primary ballot paper on February 27 rather than supporting Biden through their votes.

“Having the option to vote uncommitted gives us a strong unifying vehicle to show our discontent and send a message to Biden that we need a permanent ceasefire,” another report in the Detroit Free Press quoted Listen to Michigan campaign manager Layla Elabed as saying. Layla’s sister and House of Representatives member Rashida Talib (Democrat-Detroit) has backed the effort.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Abdullah Hammoud, Mayor of the city of Dearborn in Michigan, as well as state and local leaders around Dearborn are endorsing the push by Rashida Talib. Dearborn is home to the largest Muslim population in the US and is roughly 54 per cent Arab-American, according to census figures.

Though Biden is expected to win the Democratic primaries in Michigan with virtually no opposition to him from among the Democrats, it will be interesting to see how many voters opt for the “uncommitted” option instead of voting for the sitting US President. “Biden’s position in Michigan is precarious,” Sachdev said.

With Biden saying that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is likely to take place as early as next Monday, it remains to be seen whether Washington will change its approach towards the Israel-Hamas war in this presidential election year.