Arab and Muslim voters helped deliver Michigan to Trump. They're not all happy so far [View all]
Source: NPR
March 4, 2025 4:16 AM ET
Until November, Faye Nemer never voted for a Republican for president. "I think it was surprising for me to vote for a candidate other than a Democrat," she recalled. Nemer is founder and CEO of the MENA American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, Mich., which represents around 3,500 business leaders from Middle Eastern and North African backgrounds. She says many felt abandoned by the Biden-Harris administration's support for Israel in the war with Hamas in Gaza, and decided to vote for Trump instead, hoping that he could bring peace to the region.
Arab and Muslim voters helped deliver the key swing state of Michigan to President Trump last year. But now, some are expressing concern about his rhetoric regarding the Middle East.
Nemer supports a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and she believes Trump could make his mark by pushing the United States to recognize a Palestinian state. "That's the only pathway to the long, lasting peace that President Trump wants to accomplish," she said. "And that could be a defining moment for his presidency to finally achieve peace in the Middle East." The U.S. and some key European allies have taken the position that a Palestinian state should be the product of a negotiated solution that includes Israel.
Ibrahim Duhaini, a medical physicist from Dearborn, also voted Republican for the first time last year hoping that Trump would bring peace to the region, and beyond. "So if you could do that, you could be the chosen person from God, I would say," Duhaini said.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/03/nx-s1-5249686/arab-muslim-voters-dearborn-hamtramck-trump-gaza
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