Trump will become the first major candidate to visit majority-Arab Dearborn, Michigan in 2024

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, right, watches as local Muslim leaders speak during a campaign rally at the Suburban Collection Showplace, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Novi, Michigan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump will visit Dearborn, Michigan — the country’s largest Arab-majority city — on Friday, according to a local business owner who first pressed the former president on the call for peace in Lebanon before speaking to him. received. Metro Detroit is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, many of whom live in Dearborn. The city – which President Joe Biden won by a 3-1 margin – has been wracked by political unrest, with many angry over the Biden administration’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. While Vice President Kamala Harris has worked through surrogates to ease tensions in the community, Trump’s visit will be 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. Sam Abbas, the owner of The Great Commoner in Dearborn, told The Associated Press that Trump would visit his restaurant.
‘We expect some comments about 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 going to vote. I’m here simply because our family is being slaughtered and we just want to end the war. Stop the bombing.”
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. The Trump campaign declined to comment on the visit. It 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. While many Democratic leaders in the community have not supported Harris, they are still very negative toward Trump and say his statements of support do not reflect a majority of the community. They also remember his call to a “total and complete shutdown” about Muslims entering the country and its travel restrictions for 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. Still, Democrats worry that traditionally loyal voters could switch 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. Abbas said Trump allies contacted him several weeks ago about hosting Trump in Dearborn. Before presenting Trump, Abbas said he wanted to see a statement from Trump that he said showed Trump “intends to end the war and help us rebuild Lebanon and help the displaced and injured.”
That statement came on Wednesday, when Trump posted on X that he wanted to “Stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon.”
‘I will maintain the equal partnership between 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 Middle East.”
When Trump made the statement, Abbas said he agreed to host the event. He expects about a hundred people from the community.
“He comes to us to basically tell us, look, I did what you asked. My intentions, my true intentions are to bring peace and end the war.” said Abbas.