Trump Won Over Many Arab Americans in November. Now they are angry, feeling betrayed. "Where do we turn?"

[Demovictory9]

Trump Won Over Many Arab Americans in November. Now, Has He Lost Them?
In Detroit and its suburbs, anger is deep over Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. So is the sense that there is nowhere for Arab Americans to turn.

When Haneen Mahbuba saw the news of the deadly Israeli missile strikes on Gaza this week, she found herself so crestfallen that she struggled to breathe.

“Suddenly, it felt like I was suffocating,” Ms. Mahbuba said. While taking in what had happened from her Detroit-area home, she saw a photo of a child maimed by the violence — a girl who seemed to be nearly the same age as her daughter.

“I immediately prayed in prostration to God to end this madness,” she said. “So many in my community feel abandoned and let down. The human rights organizations have let them down. The politicians have let them down.”

“Where do we turn?” she wondered.

Ms. Mahbuba’s reaction highlighted the anger, anxiety and betrayal felt by many Arab Americans in the Detroit suburbs in the wake of President Trump’s first months in office, and particularly after the latest round of Israeli missile strikes on Gaza on what Israel said were Hamas targets. In nearly two dozen interviews across the region over the last three weeks, a common theme emerged: a sense among Arab Americans that their political concerns, especially about Gaza, have been largely shunted aside by both major political parties.

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His foreign policy seems wildly unpopular, and those who endorsed Mr. Trump find themselves under an uncomfortable microscope.

“I’m receiving a lot of hate mail,” said one supporter, Faye Nemer, head of the local Middle Eastern and North African Chamber of Commerce.

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They noted that Mr. Trump had shared a cartoonish, A.I.-rendered video of Gaza reimagined as an opulent, Trump-branded tourist resort....

Mr. Baydoun and his friends mocked the clip. “This is the president of the United States we’re talking about, putting out something like this!” one of them said. “The president of the United States!”



https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/trump-arab-americans-gaza-israel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k4.b_WN.D__dBJnq8iGm&smid=url-share

[JohnSJ]

1. What were they expecting from trump?

[Demovictory9]

3. anti Trans, Anti LGBT stuff.

[JohnSJ]

6. No doubt.

[Demovictory9]

8. GOP sucked them in with the booking banning, anti LGBT stuff in the school systems.

attracting a minority group by giving them another minority group to vote against.

[JohnSJ]

11. Then they get just what they deserve. Unfortunately, so do the rest of us who don't

deserve it.

[brush]

35. Exactly. In trump 1.0 his first act was to banned Muslins.

Stupid or naivety?

Both. How could they ever trust TSF?

[Zorro]

2. Looks like they're in the Find Out stage

And a few interviewed for the article still support Trump.

[Demovictory9]

5. very much so

[Demovictory9]

10. said they still like his domestic policies: The anti-woke? The anti-DEI? The anti-LGBT? Anti-Immigrants?

which policies?

[Cha]

31. The Anti Education, the Anti SS, the Anti Food for hungry kids.

OT speaking of "Educaton" .. Do you know if Mump made the announcement today about Doing away the Dept of Ed?

TY!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

4. Sorry, but I have zero fucks to give,

they fucking knew what he was all about and what he was going to do, he arrogantly told us and those Arab Americans still voted for him, so, fuck 'em, they helped put this criminal and his criminal org back in power so now they are facing the consequences.

[CincyDem]

7. And you, sir, have more than I do.

They didn’t want to hear the macro truth while they focused on their single issue.

[Demovictory9]

9. its tragic for all the Palestinians getting bombed...not their fault that American Arabs voted for Trump

[MarineCombatEngineer]

16. You're absolutely right,

it's not their fault, but, unfortunately, they are paying the price for Arab Americans stupidity voting for this criminal or staying home to teach the Dems a "lesson".
So who actually got taught this "lesson"?

[AloeVera]

19. People kind of forget about them.

So much anger at Arab Americans that there is no compassion left for the actual victims. Of course some people never did.

[Beastly Boy]

33. And that's the irony of Trump voters using their faux concerns for Gazans as an excuse to vote for Trump.

[dalton99a]

12. Well, keep the faith. All Palestinians might end up in a beautiful place in Africa

Mr. Trump recently nominated [the mayor of Hamtramck Amer] Ghalib to be ambassador to Kuwait. The mayor of Dearborn Heights, Bill Bazzi, who also endorsed Mr. Trump, was named to be ambassador to Tunisia.

Dr. Sam Fawaz, a staunch Trump supporter, was among the attendees at the Dearborn event. Even after the conflict resumed this week, he said he was taking the long view and sticking by the president.

“I fully understand why a lot of people would be disappointed, angry and feeling betrayed,” he said. But the president “knows his entire legacy will be shattered if the Middle East blows up even further and we get engaged in another war,” he added. “So I give him some slack and say, ‘Let’s wait and see what comes out of this.’”

[harumph]

20. Just goes to prove a medical degree doesn't confer wisdom.

[GoodRaisin]

13. They have nowhere to turn.

They should have turned to Harris when they had the opportunity. That ship has sailed. They are stupid people.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. My little town in northern NJ is mostly Muslim immigrants.

They voted against one of the most progressive Democrats in the House during the primary, Bill Pascrell, Jr.

They gave their support and their vote to one of the few Muslim mayors in the country, Mohamed Khairullah, who was challenging Pascrell.

Just because he promised to turn things around in Congress concerning Gaza.

He lost and Pascrell won.

But they didn't return Pascrell in the general election. Neither did the Muslim voting block in Paterson. They delivered Passaic County to Trump. They believed Trump. If Khairullah did endorse Pascrell, it wasn't openly or enthusiastically.

[mcar]

15. Poor dears

[sakabatou]

17. "I didn't know the face eating leopard would eat MY face!"

GFD...

[maxrandb]

18. You fucking turn to the ONLY fucking party

that fucking believes in, practices and supports democratic governance, ethics, compassion, integrity, honor, truth, morals and humanity!

You and the rest of the dipshitted MAGAt asshats looked over the God Damned menu and ordered the "Shit Sandwich"!

Enjoy your fucking meal.

[DavidDvorkin]

21. I wonder how Ms. Mahbuba reacted to the horrors of the October 7 massacre.

[Jit423]

22. They should have looked in the mirror and known better. nt

[msongs]

23. they should stick with the white racist jew hating gay basher party and suffer

the penalties for doing so. cause and effect.

[Dan]

24. they should look in the mirror

and do some serious soul searching.

[LS0999]

25. Why are they surprised?

Biden was trying to deal with both sides of the issue. Trump only cares about one side.
FAFO

[JI7]

26. They voted for George W Bush also

some groups just tend to be conservative.

Just like white working class men .

[Demovictory9]

32. My co-worker..immigrant from Muslim country supported GOP because of Sharia law

He believed GOP policies were closer to Sharia law..cutting off a hand for stealing and super harsh laws.

[tanyev]

39. Wow, that's interesting.

For all the GOP whining about sharia law, back when that was their outrage du jour, it seems like ultra-conservative adherents of any religion have much more in common with each other than they do with more liberal adherents of their own religion. Just flip sides of the same coin.

[RainCaster]

27. FA and FO

Looks like they are finding out and I have no fucks to give.
Karma people, that's what it is.

[Initech]

28. We warned you how bad it was going to get, but you voted for the fucking asshole anyways!

Either you get to help working to fix this egregious wrong, or you shut the fuck up.

Also there's a special place in hell for Jill Stein for tricking the AA population into voting against their best interests.

[Cha]

30. BOOM. TY

[Cha]

29. OMG.. The Stupid BURNS

Fucking Suckers.

[ananda]

34. Words fail at the stupidity and insanity of so many people like this.

Trump and the GOP were always openly pro Netanyahu.

It was never a secret.

[bottomofthehill]

36. They can go to go-fuck-yourselfastan

And die a slow death for all I care. Jill Stein can save them.

[meadowlander]

37. "Where do we turn?" "Up for Democrats at the midterms."

[Buns_of_Fire]

38. Jill Stein seemed to be a popular alternative. Call her.

But if a man answers, hang up. It'll be Putin.

[alarimer]

40. These people are delusional if they thought Trump was on their side

Did they not live through his first term with the "Muslim bans"?

[anamnua]

41. Some kids take their parents

word for it when they point out that sticking a finger in a flame will lead to an unpleasant experience. Others have to find out the hard way.

[Johnny2X2X]

42. Gee, who thought that the Muslim ban Guy

Gee, who thought that the Muslim ban Guy, would be so hostile towards Muslims?

Last November, America voted for Gaza to cease to exist, and that's exactly what we're going to see. The majority of trump voters are fine with this, some Trump voters are just stupid though, so now they're surprised.

[hatrack]

43. Here's a suggestion: they can slowly and carefully remove their heads from their collective ass . . . .

Just a thought, for starters.

[Vinca]

44. People have to get it into their thick heads that we have a 2-party system in this country. It's not a

parliamentary system that might afford some representation after a loss. Translation: third parties rarely win anything and amount to nothing other than enabling the worst candidate. You have to face the fact that sometimes you don't especially like either candidate, but if you don't pick the best of the worst, you're likely to end up with the worst. Happened in 2016 and again in 2024.