First Muslim mayor of Michigan city endorses Trump for president

WASHINGTON (TND) — In recent presidential elections, margins of victory don't get much tighter than they do in Michigan. It's why, on Sunday, when the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, announced his support for former President Donald Trump, it made national news.

Mayor Amer Ghalib met with Trump during a closed session in Flint last week during which Ghalib said Trump asked for his endorsement. On Sunday afternoon, Ghalib posted on Facebook that the 45th president has his support.

President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles. Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time. I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences," Ghalib said.

In an interview with local outlet OZ Media before the endorsement, Ghalib said, “We have hope that he will end the war in the Middle East...There’s nothing worse than what’s happening now.”

President of the Arab American Institute James Zogby said Ghalib's endorsement wasn't a big surprise but was still a "weird endorsement." Zogby's comments reflected his personal views and not those of the Arab American Institute.

“The door is open for this kind of thing because of the trauma and the anger that was created by Gaza and by one year of the administration, not only doing nothing to stop it but actually siding with Israel," Zogby said.

The mayor also referenced the more than 100,000 Michigan voters who cast their ballots as "uncommitted" during the state's Democratic primary this year in protest of President Joe Biden's support for Israel.

Leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which describes itself as "fighting for a Democratic Party that represents the anti-war, pro-Palestinian majority," announced last week they will not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris but urged their supporters to not vote for Trump.

The group also said they will not recommend a third-party candidate "especially as third party votes in key swing states could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency given our country's broken electoral college system."

Uncommitted National Movement co-founder and co-chair Lexis Zeidan said Arab and Muslim Americans have claimed the Democratic Party as their "political home" and still believe in organizing with progressives.

“We believe that we can continue to grow our antiwar organizing power and really push for real change as it relates to failed U.S. foreign policy under a Democratic coalition. It’s where we believe our power lies, it’s where we’ve built strong connections," Zeidan said.

Harris leads Trump in almost every statewide poll but the margins are narrow: According to FiveThirtyEight, Harris holds a two-and-a-half point advantage over the former president.