If the goal of the protests is to move Biden, they are now doing the opposite by making the political cost of Biden supporting their position higher and validating his decision to distance himself from their views.
Early on, the protesters were smart tactically by keeping the focus of the effort solely within the Democratic Party and ignoring the GOP to maximize leverage. This worked and kept the GOP on the sidelines on this issue. All that changed with the decision to escalate the effort and create encampments. Now, the protests are the newest talking point for the GOP. Just check out the instagram of Trump VP hopeful Nancy Mace (and other GOP leaders).
A new YouGov poll found that the protests are now a net negative politically for Biden (and the campaign).
Three-quarters of Americans have heard about the recent arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating on college campuses throughout the country. Nearly half of people oppose the protests, while around one in four support them. Few support demonstrators' calls for divestment, and one in three believe college administrators have not responded harshly enough to the protesters.
Americans are more likely to strongly or somewhat oppose (47%) than support (28%) pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses throughout the country in recent weeks, according to a YouGov poll this week of 9,012 U.S. adults. American Muslims support the protests by 75% to 14%; Jewish Americans, however, oppose them by 72% to 18%. Adults under 45 are twice as likely as older adults to be in favor of the protests (40% vs. 19%).
Other issues, like divestment, are even less popular according to the You Gov poll (88% do not support this concept).
Additionally, a recent Harvard Institute of Politics Poll found that Gaza is not a voting issue
for most young people (coming in 16th out of 17 issues) polled.
While the protests are now taking place at 80 colleges, there are nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the US — 98% of the colleges in the US are not involved in the protest.
Despite, this the protesters are still trying, unsuccessfully, to stick to the old strategy.
“Democrats are the ones complicit in this genocide” said Hatem Abudayyeh, chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and a spokesman for the coalition to March on the DNC said to the Washington Post. They are the ones that helping it to happen. If President Biden wanted to end it, he could today”
Biden and Democrats now have very little to gain by listening to Ms. Abudayyeh and her fellow protestors and much more to lose politically by doing so.