LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump is set to visit Dearborn, Michigan — the nation’s largest Arab-majority city — on Friday, according to a local business owner who first insisted the former president call for peace in Lebanon before hosting him.
Metro Detroit is home to nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large chunk of them living in Dearborn. The city — which President Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin — has been roiled by political turmoil, with many upset with the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
While Vice President Kamala Harris has been working through surrogates to ease community tensions, Trump’s visit will mark the first by either candidate, according to a local leader, Osama Siblani. Earlier this year, Harris met with the city’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, though their discussion took place outside Dearborn.
Sam Abbas, the owner of The Great Commoner in Dearborn, told The Associated Press that Trump was set to visit his restaurant.
“We expect some remarks around ending the war and bringing peace to the Middle East,” said Abbas. “I’m not here to get political. I’m not here to tell people which way I’m voting. I am simply here because our family is being slaughtered and we just want to end the war. Stop the bombing.”
Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and last month launched an invasion of Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, the militia that has continuously launched rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish in its death toll between combatants and civilians.
I think there are two major things in play here for why the Muslim community is lining up to support Trump. First, Muslim Americans are, after all, Americans. They are as frustrated with the higher cost of living, open borders, tax increases, etc. of the Biden/Harris administration. Muslims are also generally socially conservative (to put it mildly) and don’t like the woke BS infiltrating everything we do. For these voters, their religion is not necessarily the primary driver – just like Christians, Jews, and atheists who support Trump.
Second, for the Muslim Americans who are basing their support on America’s foreign policy in the Middle East, Trump’s foreign policy was far more effective in creating a framework for peace than Biden/Harris’ foreign policy. He was able to do this without wavering in his support for Israel by building connections on the basis of mutual self-interest – like a business deal. Trump was also more effective at keeping the crazies in their caves. He did this partially with the effective use and threat of force, and partly with effective diplomacy with the countries who can help control them. Trump neutered Iran, destroyed ISIS, and kept Russia at bay in the region. For Muslim Americans who want peace with dignity in the region, Trump is more likely to be able to deliver it.
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