GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan: Kamala Harris insisted it was time to “end the suffering” in the Middle East while Donald Trump visited one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities on Friday as the dueling presidential contenders fought for a small but pivotal bloc of Arab American voters in swing-state Michigan.
In a rare reference to Israel’s fight against Hamas and Hezbollah, Harris said, “This year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon.” She said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “can and must be a turning point.”
“Everyone must seize this opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end the suffering once and for all,” she said.
Trump, meanwhile, avoided any specifics about his plans for the Middle East, but he said he didn’t think the Arab American community would vote for Harris “because she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Later, he fought through technical glitches that silenced his microphone for almost 20 minutes at a rally in Detroit.
Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election on Nov. 5. Diverse voting blocs are key to winning virtually any swing state, but Michigan is unique with its significant Arab American population, which has been deeply frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Trump, who instituted a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and has vowed to expand the ban to include refugees from Gaza if elected again, is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, despite his well-documented history of hostile rhetoric and policies.
There were modest signs Friday that he may be making progress.
The Republican nominee visited a new campaign office in Hamtramck, one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities, and was joined there by Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Democrat who has endorsed Trump. Meanwhile, three city council members in the same town have endorsed Harris.
“His visit today is to show respect and appreciation to our community,” said Ghalib, who presented Trump with a framed certificate of appreciation.
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump attends a rally at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan, on Oct. 18, 2024. (REUTERS)
Trump’s allies have held meetings for months with community leaders in the state, which Biden carried by less than 3 points in 2020. Asked about the Hamtramck mayor’s endorsement, Trump said: “I mean, frankly, it’s an honor. I’ve got a lot of endorsements, Arab Americans, from a lot of people.”
Trump has held 15 separate events in Michigan dating back to April, when Biden was still the presumed Democratic nominee. Including a scheduled Saturday event in Detroit, Harris will have visited Michigan 11 times since she became the nominee, according to AP tracking of the campaigns’ public events.
And while foreign policy rarely sways US elections, the war in the Middle East is a critical concern for many of Michigan’s Arab American voters.
Trump said Sinwar “was not a good person” when asked about the Hamas leader’s death. Sinwar, one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack, was killed Wednesday by Israelis.
“That’s my reaction. That’s sometimes what happens,” Trump told reporters at the airport in Detroit.
Even as he reached out to disillusioned Arab American voters, Trump suggested he would end efforts to encourage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restrain military operations that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Even though Biden “is trying to hold him back ... he probably should be doing the opposite, actually,” Trump said.
Harris highlighted her support from the Arab American community as well.
On Friday, 52 Lebanese Americans endorsed Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying in a letter that the voice of their community “will be heard” under the ticket’s leadership.
The letter reiterated calls for a ceasefire, and it cited a recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary legal status to Lebanese citizens in the US Such status is made available to people from certain countries marred by war, turmoil or natural disasters.
But Harris has also faced demonstrators protesting US support of Israel in the conflict. During a closed-door meeting Thursday with students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she was confronted by a protester, according to a video posted by a pro-Palestinian student group on social media.
According to the video, as Harris was telling students she was invested in them, a protester interrupted her, asking, “And in genocide, right? Billions of dollars in genocide?”
A phalanx of Democratic governors — Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Kathy Hochul of New York — campaigned with Harris earlier Friday.
Longtime Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, emphasized that the army of top Democrats descending on the state was not a sign of panic, stating, “We have to run like we’re behind.”
“A lot of people have always said we’re a blue state. She knows we’re not. And she’s not taking us for granted,” Stabenow told the AP ahead of a rally for Harris in Oakland County.
Both Trump and Harris also made a push for union workers and Black voters as they worked every angle for support.
At an appearance at the United Auto Workers Local 652 hall in Lansing, Harris offered a direct message to union members: “I will always have your back.”
She warned that Trump would undermine collective bargaining and worker protections.
“We’ve got to get the word out to all the brothers and sisters in labor to remind them what this dude does,” she said before the campaign played a clip of Trump saying it’s not hard to build a car. “We could have our child doing it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump talked up his own support among labor unions and criticized the rise of electric cars during a rival event in Oakland County ahead of his evening rally in Detroit.
While visiting a campaign office, Trump said the head of the United Auto Workers — who has endorsed Harris — doesn’t have a clue.
“I’ve saved Michigan,” he said, telling the crowds he would bring back more manufacturing. “We’ll end up having those plants built over here instead of in other countries.”
Later, he called Teamsters President Sean O’Brien “a great guy.” O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, and his union decided not to endorse Harris, which was viewed as a victory for Trump, given the union’s past support for Democrats.
“I think it’s been many decades before they endorsed a Republican. I think they’ll start very soon,” Trump said.
Trump’s Detroit event was his first there since insulting the city last week. While warning what will happen if Harris is elected, he said that “our whole country will end up being like Detroit.” The city spent years hemorrhaging residents and businesses, plunging into deep financial problems, before rebounding in recent years.
“We love Detroit,” Trump said Friday night as the crowd erupted. “We’re going to make Detroit great again.”
