WASHINGTON(National times)- When Donald Trump won his comeback campaign, he credited the mayor of a small Detroit suburb with helping him make inroads with Michigan\u2019s Arab American community. As a reward, Trump nominated Amer Ghalib to serve as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait. But Ghalib is not on his way to the oil-rich nation in the Persian Gulf. Instead, he is still in Hamtramck, population 30,000, after his nomination stalled because of opposition from Trump\u2019s fellow Republicans. It\u2019s not clear whether the White House will submit Ghalib\u2019s name again, and he said it does not matter either way: \u201cI\u2019m not interested in it anymore.\u201d The nomination\u2019s unraveling has exacerbated tensions between Republicans and an Arab American community that, dissatisfied with Democratic President Joe Biden\u2019s handling of the war in Gaza, helped send Trump back to the White House. Although Trump was successful in 2024, a key constituency may not be there for his party in the November midterm elections, when control of Congress is up for grabs. \u201cIt\u2019s hard for me to try and convince the community to vote again Republican in 2026 and 2028 with this kind of an atmosphere,\u201d said Bishara Bahbah, who chaired Arab Americans for Trump. At the last rally of his campaign, in the predawn hours before polls opened, Trump embraced Ghalib on a Michigan stage. He called the mayor \u201cone of the greatest men in your state.\u201d It was a long way from eight years earlier, when Trump campaigned on a promise to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Not only did Trump win Michigan, he earned strong support from Arab Americans. He even won Dearborn, where nearly half the city\u2019s roughly 110,000 residents are of Arab descent. But after Trump selected Ghalib for the diplomatic post, the reception on Capitol Hill was markedly colder. \u201cYour long-standing views are directly contrary to the views and positions of President Trump and to the position of the United States,\u201d Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said at a hearing last year. \u201cI for one, I\u2019m not going to be able to support your confirmation.\u201d Cruz was joined by senators from both parties in questioning Ghalib about past comments and social media activity, including some that were labeled as antisemitic. Asked about \u201cliking\u201d a Facebook comment comparing Jewish people to monkeys, Ghalib said he had a \u201cbad habit\u201d of acknowledging nearly every response on his posts but stressed that he disagreed with the statement. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., asked Ghalib about a previous comment that allegations of sexual violence during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas against Israel were untrue. Ghalib said he condemned all abuses but claimed that he had not seen the evidence himself. He drew further scrutiny for describing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as a martyr.While no vote was taken after the hearing, the Republican opposition put Ghalib\u2019s nomination on a near-certain path to failure. \u201cPresident Trump has an incredible relationships with Arab leaders around the world,\u201d White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. She added that he \u201ccontinues to deliver on the promises he made to Arab Americans and all communities by cooling inflation, securing the border, and restoring peace through strength.\u201d Another former mayor who helped Trump with the Arab American community, Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights, had more luck than Ghalib. He was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Tunisia in October. To some critics, the administration is sidelining Arab American voices after highlighting them during the campaign. Bahbah said he recently spent more than a week in Michigan absorbing a sense of \u201cwidespread disappointment.\u201d \u201cFirst of all, many of the promises that were made to the community have not been fulfilled. That\u2019s what I\u2019m told,\u201d he said. \u201cSecondly, the whole issue of immigration and visas is really rattling the community. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is rattling the community, even those with citizenships.\u201d To top it off, Bahbah said, people feel that \u201cgrocery bills are much higher than they used to be.\u201d Many leaders in Michigan\u2019s Arab American community emphasized that Trump\u2019s success had less to do with support for the Republican candidate than anger at Biden. But the reality of Trump\u2019s second term has been more complicated than some expected. An agreement intended to stop the war in Gaza has brought mixed reactions because it \u201cseems to be a one-sided ceasefire,\u201d said Bahbah. He also said immigration enforcement has taken a toll in Arab American communities. \u201cPeople are terrorized,\u201d Bahbah said. \u201cThey\u2019re afraid.\u201d \u201cThis is not what the community voted for,\u201d he added.Ghalib emphasized that he is not upset with the president, saying \u201che was loyal and supportive.\u201d But he said \u201cthose who opposed me for nonsense reasons have made the community upset, and they will have to work hard to restore their relationship with the community.\u201d Ghalib\u2019s criticism of Republicans reflects the fragility of the coalition Trump assembled in 2024. Not only did he improve his standing with Arab Americans, he also increased his share of Black and Latino voters. But with dissatisfaction on the rise, sustaining that support is proving difficult. Osama Siblani, editor of The Arab American News in Dearborn, said he does not believe that Trump\u2019s success in 2024 will be repeated. \u201cHe has no support in this community with or without Ghalib,\u201d Siblani said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National times)- When Donald Trump won his comeback campaign, he credited the mayor of a small Detroit suburb with helping him make inroads with Michigan\u2019s Arab American community. As a reward, Trump nominated Amer Ghalib to serve as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait. But Ghalib is not on his way to the oil-rich nation in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n