AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A number of Muslim and Arab American voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election now believe that he promised to support the Muslim community to win their votes, but after winning the election, he targeted these communities with his statements and actions.
According to the New York Times, this dissatisfaction has increased in circumstances where the US President is once again using harsh rhetoric against Muslims, and anti-Islamic positions have become more prominent among part of the Republican current.
From the Promise of Support to Accusing Muslims
Trump in recent months, including in October, called Mohammed Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for the Senate election in Michigan, a "violent and aggressive jihadist," mocked his name, and repeatedly attacked the Somali American community, especially in Minnesota. He has also supported Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who has identified herself as Islamophobic and has made harsh statements against Islam.
These positions have raised concerns among Muslim and Arab American communities, including in Arab-populated areas of Michigan and Somali-populated neighborhoods of Minnesota.
American Muslims; From Biden's Pit to Trump's Well
The New York Times wrote that this approach differs from Trump's 2024 election efforts; when he tried to win the support of Muslim and Arab American voters, especially in Michigan. Some of these voters turned to Trump due to dissatisfaction with the policies of Joe Biden's administration, especially regarding the Gaza war and social issues, and their support played a role in his victory.
Trump after the election had also promised to support the Muslim community during his presidency, but according to the New York Times, a number of his former supporters now feel that these promises were made merely in line with electoral interests.
Hassan Nemeh, a Republican activist in Michigan who had worked in 2024 to connect the Trump campaign with Muslim and Arab American communities, compared the current atmosphere in the city of Dearborn with the period after the September 11 attacks and said his community feels afraid. Noting that he had worked for Trump's victory, he expressed dissatisfaction that the Muslim community is now the target of the President's statements. Bashara Bahbah, who led the "Arab Americans for Trump" coalition in 2024, also said that Trump's recent statements have caused part of the Arab and Muslim voters who had previously leaned toward him to distance themselves from his administration.
Concern About the Rise of Islamophobia and Security Consequences
The New York Times reported that Trump's statements about Muslims have a long history. In his previous election campaigns, he had described Islam as a threat against America, proposed creating a national Muslim registry, and during his first presidential term imposed restrictions on the entry of citizens from several Muslim-majority countries.
However, in the 2024 election campaign, he tried to exploit the dissatisfaction of part of Muslim voters with the Democrats' policies, especially regarding Gaza. According to Fayrouz Saad, a former Biden administration official and activist in the field of analyzing data on Muslim and Arab voters, Trump at that time used the existing political opportunity, and now he has once again intensified his harsh tone.
In Minnesota, Trump's statements about Somali immigrants have increased security concerns. After a welfare fraud case was raised, most of which was concentrated in the Somali community of this state, he addressed this community with insulting descriptions and claimed that Minnesota is being taken over by Somali immigrants. These statements were made after several shootings occurred that local officials had linked to Somali American criminal groups. However, Muslim community leaders warned that generalizing accusations to an entire community can provide the ground for threats and violence against individuals unrelated to these cases.
Mosque imams and Muslim leaders in Minnesota expressed concern about the security of Islamic centers after Trump's statements. Jaylani Hussein, the director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the President's statements can fuel extremist behavior in society. Imam Abdullahi Farah also warned that such statements have real consequences and blaming an entire community cannot be considered a strategy for ensuring public security.
Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson defended Trump's positions and said the President is confronting extremists who, according to the government, create division and promote violence.
Trump's allies have also pointed to his administration's effort to establish a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza; although the New York Times wrote that this fragile agreement has not prevented the expansion of Israel's presence in parts of the Palestinian territories.
The Possibility of Changing Arab American Votes in the Midterm Elections
The dissatisfaction of Muslims and Arab Americans could become important in next month's US congressional midterm elections; an election in which Trump is not directly a candidate, but its result will affect the political position of his administration. A joint poll by the Washington Post and Shaw University at George Mason University, published this week, shows that 58 percent of registered Arab American voters support Democratic candidates for Congress, while 34 percent prefer Republicans. These results, compared to the 2024 election when this group's votes were divided between Trump and Kamala Harris, indicate a significant shift in direction. According to the same poll, about half of Arab Americans are Muslim.
David Campbell, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and a researcher on the relationship between religion and politics, believes that the prominence of anti-Islamic sentiments could be aimed at mobilizing the Republican voter base and increasing the participation of Trump's supporters in the midterm elections. He said such an atmosphere leads to the creation of fear among Muslims and may further distance part of them from the Republican Party. In contrast, the White House claims that Trump is taking a position against extremists, not against Muslims as a community.
The New York Times concluded that, however, the experience of Muslim voters who trusted Trump in 2024 and now express dissatisfaction with his positions shows that the US government's relationship with Muslim and Arab American communities has become one of the controversial issues on the eve of the congressional elections.
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