We are one year until the 2024 United States presidential election. Barring a freak accident between the two leading octogenarian candidates, or the possibility that one of them will be knocked off ballots, Americans will be choosing Trump or Biden for president. Or neither.

Support from younger Americans and Palestinian Americans has dropped precipitously out of Biden’s favor on his handling of the Israel–Hamas war. Biden’s stance to give military aid to Israel is noxious, considering that one out of every 200 people in the Gaza strip has been killed by Israel. And it will only rise.

To respond to Biden’s support, many young people are threatening to withhold voting for him unless he turns around and puts pressure for a ceasefire. (Biden was able to get a four-hour “humanitarian pause” and privately warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize casualties.)

What is morally right is for a ceasefire. End the slaughter. Getting there would be nice.

Biden’s apparent reluctance to call for a ceasefire is his decision. The American pro-Israel lobby is large, influential, and has lots of money (in a non-anti-Semitic way—this lobby is Christian evangelicals). His calculation currently is to support Israel, or at least publicly do so.

The voices to threaten withholding votes are equally calculated. It’s about getting things done. And it’s true that no politician is owed our vote. The idea is to force those with power to act in ways that people want, pushing politicians do things that are popular to get votes. Democracy.

Biden’s unwavering support clashes with the demand for a ceasefire, leading to high tensions. Thought one: Criticism of leftists doing this fails to adequately recognize that Biden is also to blame. If he was calling for a ceasefire, left-leaning voters wouldn’t threaten to withhold their votes.

Thought two: Biden is pretty good, while Trump is way way way way way way way worse and should never sit in a chair of power again. Taking away a vote for Biden, though still not switching, very much harms us all. It’s not an easy choice. Threatening to withhold a vote might be from people who expect that Biden will cave, and they will feel fully comfortable voting for him.

What is to be done, then? I think Biden should call for a ceasefire. I don’t want people to not vote for Biden, and I think this is the right way to make liberals and leftists happy.

Could Biden be pressured in other ways? Sure. The threat is dealing maximum pressure. Will you, reader, criticize leftists online for this threat, or pressuring Biden to cave in so that these progressives will stop haranguing him?