The Dearborn, Michigan-led movement to remove President Biden and then Vice President Kamala Harris ultimately ended up supporting President-elect Trump on Election Day.
“They saw President Trump paying some attention to Arab and Muslim communities and Vice President Harris shutting down our communities in a way.” Mike Hackem, a leader of the Abandon Biden movement based in , said of Dearborn voters. Thursday's interview on FOX News Digital.
The comments come in the wake of Trump's victory in the 2024 election, with the president-elect carrying Michigan, a key battleground state, with him. This victory was due in no small part to the fact that the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, the city with the highest Muslim population per capita in the country, sent a shocking message by supporting Trump in his bid to return to the White House. Contributed.
Harris makes final appeal to Michigan's Muslim voters
president-elect trump (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
Traditionally a reliable Democratic voting bloc, dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's handling of the Gaza conflict led many Muslim Americans in Michigan to launch an “abandon Biden” movement, resulting in the president's reelection bid. More than 100,000 people voted “no commitment'' instead of supporting it. bid in the Democratic primary earlier this year.
Anxiety over the administration's handling of the war carried over into Harris' ascension to the top Democratic nomination, with activists around Dearborn worried that the vice president was doing enough to win back votes from the city's Muslim community. He claimed that there was no.
However, despite widespread dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party, many in the community are skeptical about supporting Trump, strongly support Israel and travel to the United States from several Muslim-majority countries. Some pointed to the first period as characterized by restrictions.
Mr. Hackem would later help launch the Arab Americans for a Better America PAC, which would work with like-minded community members to support President Trump in activities and propaganda. We tried to raise funds to change the situation. Dearborn area.
Billboard ads on trucks installed in the Dearborn area by Arab Americans for the Better America PAC. (Mike Hackem)
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Meanwhile, Trump appears to be starting to regain momentum with Muslim leaders in the state, winning support from several Muslim mayors and religious leaders in southeastern Michigan.
The efforts of both parties appear to have paid off, with Trump receiving 42.5% of the vote in Dearborn, compared to just 36.2% for Harris and 18.37% for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who also appealed greatly to the Dearborn community. obtained.
The results were a sharp departure from how Dearborn voted in the 2020 election, when 68.97% of city voters supported Biden, compared to just 29.72% who supported Trump. Mr. Trump also carried nearby Dearborn Heights, another city with a large Muslim population, this year, with 44% of voters there voting for the former president, compared with 38% who supported Ms. Harris. .
Ads placed in the Dearborn area by Arab Americans for Better America PAC. (Mike Hackem)
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“Arab and Muslim people are saying, 'Hey, we're getting attention now, we're getting the recognition that we fought for 60 years, and now President Trump is going to put us on stage. “We're looking at it as if we're doing it,'' Hachem said. Said. “President Trump recognizes that we exist and are part of the fabric of this country.”
