Trump Courts Arab American Leaders in Swing States Amid Growing Displeasure With Biden
Former US President Donald Trump is making an effort to court Arab American leaders amid their growing frustration with incumbent...
The post Trump Courts Arab American Leaders in Swing States Amid Growing Displeasure With Biden first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, April 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Former US President Donald Trump is making an effort to court Arab American leaders amid their growing frustration with incumbent President Joe Biden over several issues, including his policy regarding the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
This week, Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, organized a dinner for Arab American leaders in Michigan to try and get them not just to abstain from voting for Biden — but actually to endorse and vote for Trump, according to The Washington Post.
Grenell is not formally a part of the Trump campaign, but he was recently referred to as “my envoy” by the former president.
There has been a measurable shift regarding who Arab Americans plan to vote for in November’s presidential election compared to who they voted for in 2020. A New York Times-Siena College poll released last week found that 57 percent of Arab and Muslim voters in five key battleground states said they planned to vote for Trump, compared to just 25 percent who said they would back Biden.
In contrast, the Post noted, those who said they voted in 2020 reported they had supported Biden 56-35 at the time.
The shift raises questions over how potential endorsements from Arab American leaders in swing states could affect Trump’s rhetoric regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
At times, Trump has called for Israel to quickly finish the war and demurred when asked whether he stood with the Jewish state “100 percent.” However, at other times, he has blasted Biden for being what he described as insufficiently pro-Israel.
But key Arab American endorsements are unlikely to cause a major shift in Trump’s rhetoric. A number of the people invited to the dinner organized by Grenell did not specifically name the war in Gaza as the root of their displeasure with Biden. Some object to his enforcement of sanctions on Syria, while others argue he has not taken any explicit steps to benefit the American Muslim community, according to the Post.
Additionally, recent polling has shown the American people at large support Israel’s war effort against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
The Harvard CAPS Harris poll for May found that 79 percent of Americans support Israel more in the war than Hamas, 70 percent believe Israel is taking steps to avoid civilian casualties, and two-thirds do not believe a ceasefire should happen until all the Israeli hostages seized by Hamas are returned and the terrorist group is removed from power.
A majority of Americans have a favorable attitude toward Israel and believe that Biden not providing certain weapons to Israel would “embolden Hamas and [its] backers.”
Meanwhile, 74 percent of Americans believe Israel should move forward with a military operation in Rafah, and 69 percent — including majorities in both parties and independents — say Hamas is mostly to blame for the current crisis in Gaza.
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