Young Democrats face Gaza blowback as they try to mobilize students for Biden

Pro-Palestinian protesters lock arms while occupying a building, where they had established an encampment, at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus in New York on May 1. Alex Kent/Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s support for the Israeli military offensive in Gaza mixed with student anger over police crackdowns on anti-war campus protests are complicating the work of Democratic youth groups trying to engage young voters ahead of this year's election.

Last week, the College Democrats of America released a statement accusing the White House of employing a "cold shoulder strategy for its own base and all Americans who want to see an end to this war.”

Only 18% of young voters approved of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, according to a Harvard/Institute of Politics poll conducted in March.

On Thursday, Biden condemned what he referred to as “disorder” in the anti-war demonstrations on college campuses across the United States. He said he supported “the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.”

Asked if the protests had led him to change his thinking on the conflict, Biden answered, “No.