Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters

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Updated 12 September 2024
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Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters

Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters
  • Experts say neither candidate succeeded in convincing the non-monolithic community to lend them their support in November
  • Commentators feel both the Republican and Democrat relied on fear-mongering rather than in-depth policy discussions

CHICAGO: While the US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday night demonstrated sharp contrasts on major issues, experts suggest it may have done little to sway undecided voters, including those in the Arab American community.

“I don’t think this debate is going to tell us a lot about the results of the election,” Amal Mudallali, the former Lebanese ambassador to the UN, told “The Ray Hanania Show” on Wednesday.

“Neither side succeeded in bringing Arab Americans in or convincing them that he’s the one or she’s the one that will be better for them as president and will take their interests into account.”

Also speaking on Wednesday’s show, Joseph Haboush, Washington correspondent at Al Arabiya English, even called the debate “a bit bland overall.”

He said: “I’m not sure that there are any undecided voters that would change their minds based on last night’s performance.”

The debate, which was held less than two months before election day on Nov. 5, marked the first direct confrontation between the Democratic vice president and the former Republican president.

For Harris, the debate represented an opportunity to solidify her leadership after replacing President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket after his poor debate performance in June forced him to step aside.




Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with her Republican rival Donald Trump during the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 10, 2024. (AFP)

Trump, on the other hand, saw the debate as an opportunity to link Harris to the perceived failures of the Biden administration, particularly around democracy, immigration, and the economy.

“I was a bit surprised that they didn’t delve into more policy-related issues in more detail, on what either side would want to do,” said Haboush.

“It was more, I would say, fear-mongering; both sides accusing the other of trying to portray the other as a threat to any future of the US, be it democracy or on other issues that they were both accusing one another of.

“There wasn’t much more that was said or given to the audience that they didn’t already know.”

However, foreign policy issues, such as Ukraine, Gaza, China, and Afghanistan, were mentioned in the debate.




Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block roads as they rally in front of Philadelphia City Hall in Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, 2024, ahead of the Harris-Trump debate. (AFP)

On Ukraine, Trump criticized Biden’s handling of the war and promised to end the conflict, claiming that it would not have occurred had he been president.

Pledging to “settle” the conflict even before taking office, Trump said: “What I’ll do is I’ll speak to one and I’ll speak to the other. I’ll get them together.”

He added: “I know (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky very well, and I know (Russian President Vladimir) Putin very well. They respect me. They don’t respect Biden.”

Harris attacked Trump’s perceived coziness with Putin, stating that the Russian leader would “eat you for lunch,” and accused him of undermining American support for Ukraine — a key concern given Trump’s ambiguous stance on the conflict.




Kamala Harris slams Donald Trump for being in league with the world's dictators. (AFP)

She defended the Biden administration’s support for Kyiv, highlighting US military aid as essential to Ukraine’s continued independence.

“Because of our support, because of the air defense, the ammunition, the artillery, the Javelins, the Abrams tanks that we have provided, Ukraine stands as an independent and free country,” she said.

However, Harris did not propose new strategies for future US involvement.

Trump hit back, accusing Harris of being weak on foreign policy and of hating Israel and Arabs. He offered no specific solutions for the Israel-Hamas conflict, however, instead claiming the war in Gaza would not have happened under his leadership.




Donald Trump said the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza would not have happened if he were the president. (AFP)

He said: “She hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech.” While Harris did skip the speech, she did meet Netanyahu the following day.

“If she’s president, I believe that Israel would not exist within two years from now,” Trump added, going on to say Harris also hates Arabs, claiming that “the whole place (the Middle East) is going to get blown up.”

He added: “Look at what’s happening with the Houthis and Yemen. Look at what’s happening in the Middle East. This would have never happened. I will get that settled, and fast, and I will get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended.

“If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president.”




People gather outside of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California, to watch the Harris-Trump debate. (San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Harris, meanwhile, affirmed her support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and its proxies, while acknowledging the heavy civilian toll on Palestinians in Gaza, where 11 months of fighting have left some 42,000 people dead, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” she said.

She reiterated her support for the two-state solution and emphasized the importance of both Israeli security and Palestinian self-determination. Gaza, however, may not be a deciding issue in the election, even among Arab Americans.




Hours after the Harris-Trump debate in which the Gaza war was discussed, an Israeli air strike hit a school in Nuseirat, Central Gaza, ckilling at least 34 people. (AFP)

“I don’t think Arab American voters are a monolith. It’s not all of them voting on one single issue,” Joyce Karam, a senior news editor at Al-Monitor, told Wednesday’s program.

“I have Arab American friends who have prioritized the war in Gaza and some of them are going for a third party candidate.”

She added: “I think it would not be fair to the community to just say this is a ‘one vote’ or ‘one priority’ kind of drive.”
In relation to China, the candidates sparred over tariffs and trade. Trump promised sweeping tariff increases on Chinese goods, while Harris criticized these measures, citing concerns over inflation and economic instability.

Afghanistan also featured briefly in the debate, with Harris standing by Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops in August 2021, while Trump criticized the manner in which the withdrawal was executed.

Both candidates blamed each other for the chaotic aftermath and the Taliban’s return to power.




Kamala Harris’ calm demeanor was in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent interruptions and emotional outbursts. (AP)

One of the standout features of the debate was the contrast in the candidates’ delivery. Harris’ calm demeanor was in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent interruptions and emotional outbursts, which included raising his voice and launching personal attacks.

Harris’ ability to maintain her composure in the face of Trump’s barrage of insults seemed to play well with viewers. A CNN snap poll conducted after the debate found that 63 percent of respondents believed Harris had won, compared to 37 percent who favored Trump.

Online prediction market PredictIt’s 2024 presidential general election market showed Trump’s likelihood of victory declining during the debate, while Harris’ odds rose to 55 percent from 53 percent.

The debate may prove to be a pivotal moment for both campaigns. In the immediate aftermath, Harris’ campaign capitalized on her performance by calling for a second debate, challenging Trump to meet her again in October.




Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the spin room after the debate. (AP)

Trump, however, appeared reluctant to commit, claiming he had already won the debate and dismissing the idea of a rematch. But his appearance in the debate “spin room” afterwards suggested that even he recognized it had not gone as planned.

Perhaps the most poignant takeaway from the debate was the reminder that, as important as US foreign policy decisions are for the rest of the world, it is domestic issues that swing elections.

“We really don’t know what could happen. There could be many surprises to come,” said Karam. “It’s also very important to remind our audience in the Middle East that while the Gaza war is important, it’s not going to be the deciding factor for many voters.”

“This debate was not a debate that focused on the substance of the issues, it was much more stylistic and about who came off as presidential,” Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute Firas Maksad told Arab News.

Summing up, Firas Maksad, senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told Arab News: “This debate was not a debate that focused on the substance of the issues. It was much more stylistic and about who came off as presidential.”




Left to right, Arab media practitioners Amal Mudallali, Joseph Haboush and Joyce Karam.

 


US Muslim group endorses Harris, says Trump bigger danger

US Muslim group endorses Harris, says Trump bigger danger
Updated 16 sec ago
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US Muslim group endorses Harris, says Trump bigger danger

US Muslim group endorses Harris, says Trump bigger danger
The endorsement comes as the 2024 race between Harris and Trump remains very tight ahead of the Nov. 5 election
Arab American and Muslim voters may play a decisive role in the outcome in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and other battleground states

MICHIGAN: US Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action on Wednesday endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris despite its ongoing concern over the war in Gaza, saying former President Donald Trump posed a greater danger with his promise to reinstate travel restrictions affecting majority-Muslim countries.
The endorsement comes as the 2024 race between Harris and Trump remains very tight ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Arab American and Muslim voters may play a decisive role in the outcome in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and other battleground states. These voters helped President Joe Biden defeat Trump in 2020 by thousands of votes.
Many Muslim groups, including Emgage Action, have criticized the Biden administration, where Harris serves as vice president, for its support of Israel’s war in Gaza. Harris has urged an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, saying she supports Israel’s right to defend itself as well as the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
“While we do not agree with all of Harris’ policies, particularly on the war on Gaza, we are approaching this election with both pragmatism and conviction,” Emgage CEO Wa’el Alzayat said in a statement, adding it sought to provide “honest guidance to our voters regarding the difficult choice they confront at the ballot box.”
Emgage Action, which endorsed Biden in 2020, said it mobilized 1 million Muslim voters in that election. The group said the Harris endorsement reflects a “responsibility to defeat Trump and defend the community against what would be a return to Islamophobic and other harmful policies.”
Trump’s campaign had no immediate comment.
His campaign has held dozens of events with Arab Americans and Muslims in swing states and plans another event this weekend in Michigan, Richard Grenell, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence, said last week.
Trump has said he will reinstate the “travel ban” that restricts entry into the United States of people from a list of largely Muslim-dominant countries. Biden rolled back the ban shortly after taking office in 2021.
The Harris campaign welcomed the endorsement a week after another big voting bloc, the pro-Palestinian grassroots organization Uncommitted National Movement, said it would not endorse Harris, Trump or a third-party candidate.
Harris has already won the backing of smaller Muslim groups, including the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund and the American Muslim Democratic Caucus.
The US, Israel’s biggest ally and weapons supplier, has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound (900-kg) bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October, US officials told Reuters in June.
The war in the Gaza Strip began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s military has leveled swaths of Gaza, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing more than 41,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate

Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate
Updated 8 min 10 sec ago
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Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate

Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate
  • “As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve — but possibly do — Iran,” Trump said
  • “If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities“

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said Wednesday Iran should be blown “to smithereens” if the Islamic republic is involved in the harming of a US White House candidate or ex-president.
The provocative remarks come after American intelligence warned of threats from Tehran against the Republican’s life after two apparent assassination bids in recent months.
“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve — but possibly do — Iran,” Trump said at a campaign event in North Carolina.
“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens,” he added.
Trump went on to say he and the United States have been “threatened very directly by Iran” and that a firm message needed to reach Tehran that there would be the most severe consequences should it be involved in plots to kill or hurt an American president or candidate.
“The best way to do it is through the office of the president, that (if) you do any attacks on former presidents or candidates for president, your country gets blown to smithereens, as we say.”
Trump also said it was “strange” that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was in New York this week and accorded substantial protection as he attends the United Nations General Assembly even as news of the threats emerged.
“We have large security forces guarding him, and yet they’re threatening our former president and the leading candidate to become the next president of the United States,” Trump said.
The remarks come as world leaders scramble to try to avert hostilities between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel escalating into a wider regional war.
Iran has rejected accusations it is trying to kill Trump this summer, shortly after a gunman opened fire at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, killing one person and wounding the presidential candidate.
Days later, Trump posted on social media that if Iran did kill him, “I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth.”
On Wednesday, the 78-year-old Trump suggested the would-be assassin in Pennsylvania had used “potentially foreign-based apps,” and that the alleged gunman in Florida had multiple mobile phones that Trump said US authorities have been unable to open.
“They must get Apple to open these foreign apps (and) open the six phones from the second lunatic,” Trump said. “Because we have a lot at stake.”


Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace

Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace
Updated 25 September 2024
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Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace

Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace
  • “Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war,” Zelensky said
  • “Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored

UNITED NATIONS: Ukraine’s president urged global leaders Wednesday to stand with his country and not seek “an out” instead of a “real, just peace” more than two years into Russia’s war.
At a time when he faces growing pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly there’s no alternative to the “peace formula” he presented two years ago. Among other things, it seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes.
“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war,” he said.
“Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored. “And that will bring us peace.”
Russia hasn’t yet had its turn to speak at the assembly’s annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other high officials. Low-level Russian diplomats occupied the country’s seats in the huge assembly hall during Zelensky’s speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending this year’s high-level meetings at the General Assembly.
The war in Ukraine was center stage the last two times that world leaders convened for the UN’s signature annual meeting. But this year, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the escalating developments along the Israeli-Lebanese border have gotten much of the spotlight.
Ukraine and Russia, with one of the world’s most potent armies, are locked in a grinding fight along a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
The war began when Russia invaded in February 2022 and has killed tens of thousands of people. Russia has gained momentum in Ukraine’s east; Ukraine, meanwhile, startled Russia by sending troops across the border in a daring incursion last month.
Zelensky argued Tuesday at the UN Security Council that Russia needs to ” be forced into peace,” saying there’s no point in pursuing peace talks with Putin.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded Wednesday that the Ukrainian president’s call for compulsion was “a fatal mistake” and “a profound misconception, which, of course, will inevitably have consequences for the Kyiv regime.”
Zelensky is expected to present a victory plan this week to US President Joe Biden.


Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt

Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt
Updated 25 September 2024
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Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt

Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt
  • The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognized by any country
  • The group has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government’s comments

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban government is keen to join the BRICS economic forum, a spokesman said on Tuesday ahead of the group’s summit in Russia.
The summit of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet on October 22-24 in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.
“Countries with major resources and the world’s biggest economies are associated with the BRICS forum, especially Russia, India, and China,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, a government deputy spokesman.
“Currently, we have good economic ties and commercial exchanges with them. We are keen to expand our relations and participate in the economic forums of the BRICS,” he said.
The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognized by any country but have growing relations with founding BRICS nations including China and Russia.
The group, which has recently expanded by including Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia, has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government’s comments.
A spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on Wednesday that they have “no information so far” about an invitation to the event.
Both Moscow and Beijing have expressed their readiness to invest in commercial projects in Afghanistan and to cooperate with Taliban authorities in its fight against Daesh Khorasan, the Daesh group’s Afghanistan branch.


Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital

Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital
Updated 25 September 2024
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Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital

Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital
  • The three foreign investment projects in Nusantara were worth about $63 million
  • Indonesian government planned 80 percent of the $32-billion project to be funded by private sector

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s outgoing President Joko Widodo broke ground on Wednesday for Australian, Russian and Chinese projects in the country’s future capital Nusantara, marking the first foreign investment in his administration’s flagship $32-billion initiative.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is relocating its capital to East Kalimantan on Borneo island to replace the overcrowded and sinking Jakarta on Java island, with the megaproject scheduled for completion in 2045.

“This morning, we broke ground for education investment from Australia. Then we also broke ground for property development by Russian investors. And … we are about to do another groundbreaking (project) for a mixed-use property development from Delonix Nusantara, from Chinese investors,” Widodo said during a livestreamed ceremony in Nusantara.

“The foreign investments that are coming in are giving us the belief and confidence that Nusantara is an extremely attractive location for investments.”

Chinese property firm Delonix Group is investing $33 million in the complex of hotels, office and community retail spaces in Nusantara.

The Australian Independent School and Russia’s property developer Magnum Estate are two other investors working with local partners and investing around $9.9 million and $19.8 million in Nusantara, respectively.

Since Widodo unveiled his plan in 2019, the new capital project has faced construction delays and struggled to attract the hoped-for foreign assignment. The mammoth undertaking is expected to mostly rely on private investors, with government funding planned to cover 20 percent of the total expenditure.

The government has so far signed many letters of intent, Widodo said, but officials are carefully choosing projects to “adjust them to the needs of Nusantara.”

The new capital that has been widely seen as the president’s attempt to seal his legacy previously received a $1.3 billion investment from a consortium of Indonesian companies.

Widodo has said he is planning to spend the last weeks of his second and final term in office there. His successor, President-Elect Prabowo Subianto, will take office on Oct. 20.