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Donald Trump and Mayor Amer Ghalib
Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Democrat, and Yemeni-American, announced on Facebook Sunday that he is endorsing Republican Donald Trump for President.
"Let me be clear, so our expectations are realistic. President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles," he wrote. "Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time. I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences."
Ghalib met with Trump in Flint last Tuesday, and said at the time that the Republican presidential candidate had solicited his endorsement.
On Sunday, Breitbart published Trump's reaction to the endorsement:
“I was very impressed with him and he was a very big fan of the Trump administration because he saw no wars — outside of defeating ISIS, but I inherited that — but there were no wars. There was no October 7. There was no Russian attack on Ukraine. He sees that and he told me — he saw a world that was at peace. Now, we have a world that’s going to end up in World War 3 and I can stop that. I’m the only one that’s going to stop that.”
On Sunday, Trump also posted the mayor's endorsement on Truth Social.
First Joe Biden, now Kamala Harris has been struggling to win over the Arab American and Muslim vote in Michigan because of the administration's support of Israel. Earlier this year, during the presidential primary in Michigan, when Biden was still running, more than 100,000 people voted "uncommitted," many of them Arab Americans and Muslims who were demanding a permanent cease fire in Gaza and protesting the administration's support of Israel.
Politico reported last week that while the Uncommitted National Movement isn't endorsing Kamala Harris, it strongly opposes Trump, explaining his “agenda includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza while intensifying the suppression of anti-war organizing.” It is advising against people voting for any third-party candidates in November, which leaders say would help a Trump victory in key swing states.
Ghalib became the first Muslim mayor of Hamtramck in 2022. He has worked closely with what is believed to be the first all Muslim-American city council in America in a city that is majority Muslim. It was once home to a majority population of people of Polish descent.
The city has been publicly supportive of the Palestinians since the war broke out in Israel and Gaza last Oct. 7, nearly a year ago.
Last December, the Hamtramck City Council passed a resolution to rename a mile-stretch of Holbrok Street "Palestine Avenue." The month before, the council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The council stirred controversy last year when it passed a resolution banning the Gay Pride flag on city property.
Though Ghalib has been a Democrat he has found some common ground with the conservative values of the Republican Party, including on issues like LGBQT+.
In September 2023, The Review, a Hamtramck news publication, reported that Ghalib had met twice with Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor for President Trump, who once said “Islam is a cancer.”
The publication reported:
Despite these glaring differences, Ghalib has apparently found common ground with Flynn, and has met with him twice – most recently at Azal Hall in Hamtramck (on Holbrook) where about 20-30 Yemeni-American community leaders, GOP members, and others were invited.
And just what is this common ground? Flynn talked for over an hour about the issue of LGBTQ rights and how schools are supposedly indoctrinating children, as well as on “woke” culture, critical race theory, immigration and the catch-all 'family values.'”
Trump has scheduled two campaign stops in Michigan on Friday, the Detroit News reports.
He'll first speak at 2 p.m. Friday at FALK Production in Walker in Kent County, and then at 6 p.m. at a town hall at Macomb Community College in Warren.
