Donald Trump met with Arab Americans on Friday in Dearborn, Michigan – the country’s largest Arab-majority city – as the Republican presidential candidate seeks to court the potentially decisive group despite his history of Islamophobic rhetoric and policies.
Trump was greeted with cheers and applause from a modest crowd at The Great Commoner restaurant in one of his campaign’s final attempts to build support in the key battleground state.
Metro Detroit is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, many of whom live in Dearborn. The city — which Democrat Joe Biden won by a 3-1 margin in 2020 — has been wracked by political unrest, with many angry over the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Democrats worry that anger over the war will cause traditionally loyal voters to shift their votes to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein — or skip the top of the ballot altogether. This could be crucial in Michigan, a state considered a toss-up by both parties.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP
While Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has worked through surrogates to ease tensions in the community, Trump’s visit was 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, although their conversation took place outside Dearborn.
Friday’s meeting with Arab supporters follows Trump’s rally last week in Michigan, when he brought local Muslims on stage with him. Trump has also received support from two Democratic mayors of Muslim-majority cities.
“It is time to prioritize the interests of our nation and promote lasting peace for all,” Albert Abbas, an Arab American, said Friday as he stood next to Trump. “This current administration has failed miserably in all aspects of humanity.”
He added: “We look forward with hope to a Trump presidency and envision a time when peace flourishes, especially in Lebanon and Palestine.”
While many Democratic leaders in the Arab community have not supported Harris, they are still deeply negative toward Trump and say his statements of support do not reflect a majority of the community. They recall his call for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the country and his travel restrictions on visitors from Muslim-majority countries. And some point out that Trump has suggested he would give Israel even more leeway to attack its rivals in the region.
Top community leaders in Dearborn, including Hammoud, declined an invitation to meet with Trump while he was in town. Many community leaders say that while Harris never earned their support, they still overwhelmingly oppose Trump.
Siblani, a prominent figure in the community who has engaged with Democratic leaders about the ongoing tensions, noted that many “don’t trust” Trump because of his past policies and comments. However, he emphasized the importance of Trump’s visit to Dearborn.
“Kamala should have done this months ago,” Siblani said.
Harris defended her record on this issue on Friday, telling reporters that she is “proud to have a significant amount of support from the Arab-American community,” while adding that she continues to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, and launched an invasion of Lebanon last month to suppress Hezbollah, the militia that has continuously launched rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its death toll.
Abbas said Trump allies contacted him several weeks ago about hosting Trump in Dearborn. Before hosting Trump, Abbas said he wanted to see a statement from Trump showing Trump’s “intention to end the war and help us rebuild Lebanon and help the displaced and wounded.”
That statement came Wednesday when Trump posted on X that he wanted to “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon.”
“I will maintain the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities,” Trump said on X. “Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity and harmony with their neighbors, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the world. Middle East.”
When Trump made the statement, Abbas said he agreed to host the event.
