Some Arab Americans who voted for Trump are concerned about his picks for key positions

[November 18, 2024]  By JOEY CAPPELLETTI

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Just a week after winning a majority of the vote in several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed “there is no such thing as Palestinians.”

Meanwhile, the two Trump advisers who led his outreach to Arab Americans have not secured positions in the administration yet.

The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and Muslims in Michigan, which went for Trump along with all six other battleground states. Some noted Trump’s longstanding support for Israel and said their vote against Vice President Kamala Harris was not necessarily an endorsement of him. Others who openly supported him say he will be the final decisionmaker on policy and hope he will keep his promise of achieving an end to the conflicts in the Middle East.

Albert Abbas, a Lebanese American leader whose brother owns the Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant Trump visited in the campaign's final days, stood beside the former president during that visit and spoke in support of him.

Now, Abbas says it’s “too early” to judge Trump and that “we all need to take a deep breath, take a step back and let him do the work that he needs to do to to achieve this peace.”

“I just want you to think about what the alternative was,” said Abbas, referring to the current administration’s handling of Israel's war in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon. He added, “What did you expect from myself or many members of the community to do?”

Beyond promising peace in the Middle East, Trump has offered few concrete details on how he plans to achieve it. His transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

Throughout the campaign, his surrogates often focused more on criticizing Harris than outlining his agenda. And visuals of the conflict — with tens of thousands of deaths collectively in Gaza and Lebanon — stirred anger among many in Arab and Muslim communities about President Joe Biden and Harris' backing of Israel.

Amin Hashmi, a Pakistani American in Michigan who voted for Trump, urged him to stay true to his campaign commitments to bring peace.

“I am disappointed but not surprised," said Hashmi, who urged Trump to “keep the promise you made to the people of Arab descent in Michigan.”

Trump picks what pro-Israel conservatives call a ‘dream team’

Those in the community with concerns have specifically pointed to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, nominated as Trump’s ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has consistently rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel, strongly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposed a two-state solution, claiming “there really isn’t such a thing” as Palestinians in referring to the descendants of people who lived in Palestine before the establishment of Israel.

While Huckabee has sparked the most concern among community members, other Trump Cabinet picks have strongly spoken in Israel's favor as it targets Hamas following the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which it killed 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds more as hostage.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, center, listens to Albert Abbas, owner of The Great Commoner, left, as Massad Boulos looks on during a visit to the cafe, Nov. 1, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated for secretary of state, has opposed a ceasefire in the war, stating that he wants Israel to “destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on.”

Trump's pick to be his ambassador to the United Nations, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, led the questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on campuses. She has also opposed funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which oversees aid to Gaza.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, which organized for Trump in Michigan, has been outspoken in its support for many of Trump’s Cabinet picks. Sam Markstein, the group’s political director, described the proposed lineup as a “pro-Israel dream team,” adding that “folks are giddy about the picks.” He praised Trump’s pro-Israel record as “second to nobody.”

“The days of this mealymouthed, trying to have support in both camps of this issue are over," Markstein said. "The way to secure the region is peace through strength, and that means no daylight between Israel and the United States.”

No roles yet for key figures in Trump's Arab American outreach

Among the reasons some Arab American voters supported Trump was that they believed his prominent supporters would be key in the next administration.

Massad Boulos, a Lebanese businessman and father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, led efforts to engage the Arab American community, organizing dozens of meetings across Michigan and other areas with large Arab populations. Some sessions also featured Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence, who was well-regarded by those who met with him.

Neither Boulos nor Grenell has been tapped yet for the coming administration, though Grenell was once considered a potential secretary of state before Rubio was selected. Boulos declined to comment and Grenell did not respond to a request for comment.

“Some people expected Trump to be different and thought Massad would play a significant role,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, which declined to endorse a candidate in the presidential race.

Siblani himself turned down a suggested meeting with Trump after the non-endorsement announcement.

“But now people are coming to us and saying, ‘Look what you’ve done,’” Siblani said. “We had a choice between someone actively shooting and killing you and someone threatening to do so. We had to punish the person who was shooting and killing us at the time.”
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Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Detroit and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

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