Trump to visit Arab-majority city in Michigan, riding anger over Middle East war
Former president presses last-minute push in swing state, winning endorsements from some Muslim community leaders, as VP Harris linked to Biden administration’s support for Israel
LANSING, Michigan — Donald Trump is set to visit Dearborn, Michigan — the US’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 the country’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large chunk of them living in Dearborn. The city — which US 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 US 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 has been at war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
It also launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon in September, aimed at pushing Hezbollah back from the border with Israel in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, after a year of daily rocket fire from the terror group resulted in the displacement of some 60,000 residents of Israel’s north.
The Trump campaign declined to comment on the visit. It follows Trump’s rally in Michigan last week, when he brought local Muslims up onstage with him. Trump has also received endorsements from two Democratic mayors of Muslim-majority cities.
While many Democratic leaders in the community have not endorsed Harris, they are still deeply negative toward Trump and say his endorsements don’t reflect a majority of the community.
They also remember his call for a “total and complete shutdown” on Muslims entering the country and his travel restrictions on visitors from Muslim-majority countries. Some also point out that Trump has suggested he would give Israel even more leeway as it battles its enemies in the region.
Even so, Democrats worry that traditionally loyal voters may shift to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein, or skip the top of the ballot altogether. This could prove pivotal in Michigan, a state both parties see as a toss-up.
During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon. I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace,…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2024
Abbas said Trump allies had reached out to him several weeks ago about hosting Trump in Dearborn. Before hosting Trump, Abbas said he wanted to see a statement from Trump that he said showed Trump “has the intentions of ending the war and helping us rebuild Lebanon and helping the displaced and the injured.”
That statement came Wednesday, when Trump posted on X that he wanted to “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon.”
“I will preserve 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 Middle East.”
Once Trump put out the statement, Abbas said he agreed to host the event. He expects close to 100 people from the community.
“He’s coming to us to basically tell us, look, I did what you guys asked. My intentions, my true intentions are to bring peace and to end the war,” said Abbas.
