Trump seeks 'strong support' from Arab, Muslim Americans in Michigan

Donald Trump has further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of the largest city in the swing state of Michigan.

"I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation," the former president told supporters in Novi on Saturday. He said people want him to say Detroit is "great," but he thinks it "needs help."

Trump's stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan's importance in the tight race. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20 percent of registered voters.

Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.

Michigan has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration's support for Israel's onslaught on besieged Gaza.

During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters "could turn the election one way or the other," Trump said, adding that he was banking on "overwhelming support" from those voters in Michigan.

"When President Trump was president, it was peace," said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights.

"We didn't have any issues. There were no wars."

A Trump ally, Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, told reporters that Trump was winning over support from more Arab Americans and has cultivated relationships with leaders in the Middle East that would bring more stability to the region.

Stark shift

Historically, the Democratic Party was the political home for Arab and Muslim Americans. That has appeared to have changed since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and America's unbridled monetary and military support to Tel Aviv.

As a result, many Arab and Muslim Americans have turned away from Vice President Kamala Harris, who earlier this year replaced President Joe Biden in the White House race as the Democratic candidate, especially after she said that she would not change Biden's policy towards Israel.

Israel has killed almost 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, so far in the blockaded enclave.

Israel's carnage has caused a massive shortage of basic necessities, including medicine, electricity, food and water, while also displacing almost all of Gaza's population.

Tel Aviv also killed over 2,600 people in Lebanon since October last year, and mounted the tensions even further after striking Iran.