A restaurant in the heart of Dearborn, Michigan, was uncharacteristically empty on Friday evening, hours after Republican Donald Trump stopped by to court the votes of Michigan's large Arab American and Muslim communities.
Zeina Shaban, general manager of 'The Great Commoner', said the halal restaurant was normally much busier on Friday evenings, but many guests had cancelled their reservations after Trump's visit.
"We've already gotten so much backlash," said Shaban, a US citizen with Palestinian and Lebanese heritage, who wore a traditional Palestinian keffiyeh.
"I think we'll see more of that. Everybody's boiling here, given the bloodshed (in Gaza and Lebanon) every single day."
Middle East
Trump has been an ardent supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but has also tried to court Arab and Muslim voters frustrated with the Biden administration’s handling of the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Trump aides say he's making good inroads, given deep-seated anger at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their continued financial and military support of Israel.
Many Arab American and Muslim voters remain wary of Trump and the travel ban he imposed on nearly all immigrants and travelers from seven countries with majority Muslim populations after taking office in 2017.
The policy was revised amid court challenges, but the US Supreme Court ultimately upheld it in June 2018.
A new text message poll released by the Council on American Islamic Relations on Friday showed Harris with 41%, nearly tied with third party candidate, Jill Stein of the Green Party, with 42%.
The poll of 1,449 verified Muslim voters conducted from Oct 30-31 showed only 10% support for Trump.
Albert Abbas, a business consultant and brother of the owner of the 'The Great Commoner ' eatery, said he believed Muslims in the area would be heartened by Trump's comments about his determination to secure peace in the Middle East.
"He only spoke positively about Arab Americans, about Muslim Americans, and his promise to end wars and create peace in Lebanon and Palestine. This was a very powerful message," he said.
"I promise you, when they hear that, the majority of Muslim Americans and Arab Americans throughout Dearborn and throughout Michigan and throughout the country are going to support Donald Trump."
Abbas said he had agonized over how to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election for months, but lost faith in Harris and reached out to Trump's campaign after Harris' outreach officials began a meeting with local officials by saying there would be no change in US policy on Israel.
Harris has met privately with Abdullah Hammoud, the first Arab American mayor of Dearborn, and other Arab American and Muslim leaders, but has not staged a public visit to the city outside Detroit.
She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and the return of hostages taken by the Hamas militant group, but has underscored her unwavering support for Israel.
Hammoud posted on X earlier Friday that he had refused to meet with Trump. "The architect of the Muslim Ban is making a campaign stop in Dearborn. People in this community know what Trump stands for - we suffered through it for years," he wrote. "I’ve refused a sit down with him although the requests keep pouring in. Trump will never be my president."
Hammoud also criticized Democratic leaders, saying that their "unwillingness to stop funding and enabling a genocide" created the space for Trump to reach out to Muslim communities.
Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians a day after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of Gaza to rubble, as well as killed at least 2,897 people in Lebanon, its health ministry said in an update on Friday.
