President Trump’s comments about having the U.S. take control of Gaza, forcibly removing Palestinians and then transforming it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” has done little to damage his support in the Arab American community in the U.S.
Several organizations, including Arab Americans for Peace, and Abandon Harris, a group of Arab and Palestinian Americans that opposed the election of Vice President Kamala Harris, told ABC News that they still prefer Mr. Trump over Ms. Harris.
“I don’t regret having supported the president. He promised us an end to the war and was able to get a ceasefire for us in Gaza, and for that we are grateful. Imagine how many hundreds of Palestinians we’ve been able to save because of the ceasefire,” Bishara Bahbah, the chairman of Arab Americans for Peace, told the news outlet.
Hudhayfah Ahmad, head of media for the Abandon Harris campaign, called Mr. Trump’s comments about displacing Palestinians “grotesque,” but dismissed it as “rhetoric.”
“At the end of the day, when you put them on a scale, they’re comments. It’s rhetoric and I don’t feel it is appropriate, nor is it honest to sit here and conflate it with the actions of the Biden-Harris administration or try to use that rhetoric to use it as a ‘gotcha’ moment to people who voted against the Biden-Harris administration,” he told ABC News.
Mr. Trump courted Arab-American voters during the election, and they returned the support. The groups said they were angry at President Biden over his support for Israel’s actions in Gaza. For example, Mr. Trump won 42% of the voters in Dearborn, Michigan, home of America’s largest Arab-American population, on his way to winning the critical swing state. It was the best showing by a Republican in Michigan in decades.
Just five days before Mr. Trump was sworn into office, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal that included the exchange of hostages. Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump have taken credit for the ceasefire agreement, which remains fragile but has so far held.
Mr. Bahbah said he believes Mr. Trump’s pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led to the ceasefire deal.
The Arab American community viewed Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris as offering unconditional support for Israel during its war with Hamas. More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began after Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas killed 1,200 people, and hundreds more were taken captive.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.