Faced with two choices she did not like, Suehaila Amen chose neither. Instead, the longtime Democrat from the Arab-American stronghold of Dearborn, Michigan, backed a third-party candidate for U.S. President, adding her voice to a remarkable turnaround that helped Donald Trump reclaim Michigan and the presidency.
In Dearborn, where nearly half of the 1,10,000 residents are of Arab descent, Vice-President Kamala Harris received over 2,500 fewer votes than Mr. Trump, who became the first Republican presidential candidate since former President George W. Bush in 2000 to win the city. Mr. Trump, in his previous term as President, had banned travel to the U.S. from several mostly-Muslim countries.
Ms. Harris lost the presidential vote in two Detroit-area cities with large Arab American populations after months of warnings from local Democrats about the Biden-Harris administration’s unwavering support for Israel in the war in Gaza. Some said they backed Mr. Trump after he visited a few days before the election, mingling with customers and staff at a Lebanese-owned restaurant and reassuring people that he would find a way to end the violence in West Asia. Others, including Ms. Amen, were unable to persuade themselves to back the former President. She said many Arab Americans felt Ms. Harris got what she deserved but are not “jubilant about Trump.”
Published – November 12, 2024 10:20 am IST
