Arab Americans react to Trump's historic return to power

Michigan — A day after the US election results are in, many Arab American voters have gathered at Dearborn's Lava Java Hookah Lounge. Trump's unexpected victory draws wide cheers from the motley crowd that, until recently, had been firmly Democratic.

For many here in the Lake state of Michigan, this moment in history isn't about party lines — it is about standing up for Gaza and voicing their full-throated rejection of the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the crisis.

Dr. Ahmed Ghanem, a former Democratic candidate for Congress and a prominent Muslim leader in metro Detroit, put it bluntly to TRT World.

"This is a historical result. Nobody imagined that a year ago Arab Americans would vote for Trump in these numbers. It is safe to say that these results are a direct result of the failure of the Democratic establishment."

Reflecting on his ejection from a Democratic rally in Michigan where Harris spoke after he had demanded the party take a stronger stand on Gaza, Ghanem added, "They abandoned Muslims and Arab Americans and kicked us out of their political spaces."

Early election results showed nearly half of Dearborn's voters had chosen Trump — a dramatic shift for a city that has long supported Democratic candidates. For people like Lina Shadid, a teacher and mother of three, it wasn't an easy choice.

"I have always voted Democrat. I believed they cared about families like mine. But when Gaza erupted, all I saw from Biden and Harris was indifference," she said. "They didn't listen to our pain at all; they didn’t even look our way."

'Harris brushed off our pleas'

Several voters in Dearborn and nearby Muslim-majority cities of Hamtramck and Troy told TRT World that Biden and Harris' perceived silence on Gaza was a tipping point. Sami Nassar, a shop owner who had cast his ballot for Democrats his entire life, said he felt completely abandoned.

"My extended family in Palestine suffered, my community suffered, and they pretended not to hear us," he told TRT World, shaking his head. "When Kamala Harris brushed off our pleas, that's when I knew something had to change. This vote was our way of telling them: you can't take us for granted."

Nabeel Hamameh, a Palestinian American, shared in the excitement of the Trump win but voiced a frustration many newcomers felt. "This wasn't about party loyalty or liking Trump," he said.

"This was about finding someone who might care enough to try to end the killing and suffering in Gaza. I don't want to explain to my children why their cousins are being killed and our president stays silent."

The atmosphere in and around Detroit is one of relief. For some, like Lina's cousin Ali Awad, the choice still weighed heavily. "I feel torn," he admitted, leaning in to catch election analysis on his mobile screen.

"If I can be very honest with you, Biden and, by extension — Harris — made us feel invisible. They gave platitudes, but what we needed was action in Gaza. This vote is a cry for help—to be seen, to be valued."

Harris' campaign made a significant misstep by excluding any Muslim and Arab speakers from the Democratic National Convention in August. Days ago, the party sent Bill Clinton to Michigan, where he controversially claimed that Israel was "forced" to kill civilians in Gaza, further alienating the community.

Only towards the end of her campaign, Harris tried to claim that she would solve Gaza if voted to power, but the tone-deaf message from the mainstream Democratic establishment was not lost on many.

Dr. Ghanem reflected on the gravity of the moment. "Harris' outreach towards the end was too little and too late."