Former President Donald Trump visited Dearborn, Michigan, today — a city that’s home to the country’s largest Arab American population.
The Republican nominee, known for his harsh statements on Islam and Muslims, enacted a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries in his first term as president.
However, in a dramatic shift in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential elections, Trump has been making very public appeals for Arab and Muslim American votes — a strategy that contrasts with Vice President Kamala Harris’s more discreet approach.
Trump’s change in tone and tact is a testament to the power of Arab and Muslim American voters in swing states like Michigan, where the race between Trump and Harris is effectively tied.
Just 10,000 or so votes could decide who gets the state’s 15 electoral votes. Estimates of Michigan’s Arab American population range from around 200,000 to close to 400,000. The partially overlapping Muslim population is similarly sized.
Targeted Messaging, Direct Appeals
In Dearborn, Trump visited a cafe and met with local supporters. Ironically, the city has long been demonized by right-wing news outlets like Fox News, which have falsely termed it a “no-go zone” for non-Muslims. Last month, Trump also visited the Muslim-majority city of Hamtramck, where he was endorsed by the Democratic mayor, who is a Muslim.
Contrary to popular belief, Arab and Muslim Americans are not monolithic communities. A majority of Arab Americans are Christian and most American Muslims are non-Arab. They originate from various countries, sects, and denominations, with different levels of religiosity. Importantly, their political and economic interests are diverse — and are sometimes at odds with one another.
Both the Harris and Trump campaigns recognize this diversity and are targeting subgroups within these communities.
The Harris campaign and its supporters aim to mobilize black American Muslim voters in Philadelphia and Atlanta — urban centers in key swing states. Harris’s campaign was endorsed weeks ago by a group of mainly black American Muslim imams and community leaders.
Harris’s approach has largely been one that relies on behind-the-scenes meetings with community leaders, including elected representatives.
In contrast, Trump has used his own voice to reach out to Arab and Muslim voters, even bringing some on stage with him.
“Did you see in Michigan, how well we’re doing with the Arab Americans? That’s good. That’s great….We’re uniting Christians and Jews, Catholics and Evangelicals, Muslims and Mormons…”
Former President Donald Trump at a rally on October 31, 2024 in Henderson, NV
Trump has also used his social media accounts to appeal to subsets within the Arab and Muslim communities, as well as other ethnic minorities with a sizeable presence in Michigan and other swing states. This microtargeting strategy leverages Trump’s own voice and reflects the influence of his son-in-law, Michael Boulos, who is of Lebanese ancestry.
Reaching these diverse groups, however, often involves navigating divisions brought over from their countries of origin, which are active conflict zones.
This week, Trump pledged to “stop the suffering and destruction of Lebanon.” Notably, he said that he would “preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities” — a statement crafted to recognize the complex sectarian powersharing structure put in place in Lebanon after its devastating 15-year civil war.
Many Contradictions
Yet in his Lebanon statement, Trump did not mention Israel, whose bombardment of Lebanon is the principal cause of the “suffering and destruction there.” Trump’s top funders include supporters of Israel’s hard right, such as megadonor Miriam Adelson.
In appeals to pro-Israel groups, Trump has disparaged Palestinians, using the identity as a slur against politicians like Sen. Chuck Schumer. Adelson wants Trump to recognize a future annexation of the occupied West Bank by Israel, which would be illegal under international law.
Still, it remains unclear how far Trump would comply with Adelson’s demands. He has reportedly asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wind down his Gaza war by the end of this year.
Trump has also made direct appeals to Armenian Americans, some of whom migrated to the U.S. via Lebanon, and Coptic Christians. Some within these communities, who have experienced persecution in Muslim-majority regions, previously supported Trump in 2016.
Now, a simpler tactic employed by Trump has been to deploy plain anti-war messaging, which he also uses to attack political opponents. The former president frequently rails against former Rep. Liz Cheney, fusing his personal animosity towards her with anti-war posturing, describing the daughter of Dick Cheney — an Iraq war architect — as a “warmonger.”
‘Dirty Tricks’
Trump may be making inroads with Arab and Muslim American voters. A survey commissioned by the Saudi Arabian-owned Arab News outlet last month gave the Republican nominee a 45 to 43 edge over Harris among Arab Americans in Michigan.
But many, if not most, in these communities continue to view Trump with distrust if not disdain.
Dearborn’s young mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, an Arab American Muslim and a Democrat, spoke out against Trump before his visit today:
That distrust may be compounded by tactics used by Trump’s campaign and supporters.
An Elon Musk-funded political action committee (PAC) has been targeting Arab Americans with advertisements depicting Harris and her Jewish husband Doug Emhoff as “America’s pro-Israel power couple.” At the same time, is is directing ads at Jewish voters that portray Harris as sympathetic to allegedly “anti-Semitic” campus protestors.
This week, Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan received texts falsely attacking pro-Harris community leaders as supporters of Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. Over 40,000 Palestinians — mainly civilians — have been killed by the Israeli military in its response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
The texts do not appear to disclose the organization behind the campaign — a potential violation of federal campaign laws.
Among those attacked was Wael Alzayat, a former U.S. government official who now runs Emgage, an American Muslim political advocacy group.
The texts, ostensibly from a person named Mohamed, expressed anger over Emgage’s endorsement of Harris and urged Arabs to vote for Trump to hold the current administration “accountable for the massacre of our people.” An image in the text also includes a Star of David imposed on Emgage’s logo, which some may view as anti-Semitic insinuation.
Alzayat calls the texts “character assassination” and argues that they reflect the Trump campaign’s apprehensions that Harris is gaining traction with Arab and Muslim voters in the race’s final stretch.
Notably, the individuals attacked were Arab and Muslim community leaders, like Wayne County Commissioner Assad Turfe, who met with Harris earlier this month and endorsed her. Turfe spoke at a Harris rally this week:
Clearly, the texts are aimed at delegitimizing Arab and Muslim Harris surrogates.
Alzayat also points to contradictions in Trump’s approach toward the Middle East, arguing that the former president speaks out of both sides of his mouth. He notes that Trump continues to pledge to reinstate the so-called Muslim travel ban and maintains an association with anti-Muslim voices like Laura Loomer and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Alzayat warns a vote for Trump will not only be one Arabs and Muslims regret, but it would also harm all Americans, producing a presidency with no checks on power, should the Republicans pair winning the White House and Congress with a Supreme Court already stacked with conservatives.
Trump, Alzayat says, would not only “revoke the non-profit status” of pro-Palestine groups, but also do great harm to the country at large.
Tuesday will be a decisive day in American history. How it turns out is anyone’s guess. What is clear is that Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan are poised to play a key role in determining the election’s outcome. After all, why else would Trump have stopped by Muslim-majority cities on the last two Fridays of a dead-heat presidential race?
Arif Rafiq is the editor of Globely News. Rafiq has contributed commentary and analysis on global issues for publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the New Republic, the New York Times, and POLITICO Magazine.
He has appeared on numerous broadcast outlets, including Al Jazeera English, the BBC World Service, CNN International, and National Public Radio.