Lansing — Donald Trump will visit Dearborn — the Arab-majority nation’s largest city — on Friday, according to a local business owner who initially insisted the former president call for peace in Lebanon before hosting him.
Metro Detroit is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large portion of them living in Dearborn. The city — which President Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin — has been rocked by political turmoil, with many upset with the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
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While Vice President Kamala Harris has worked through surrogates to ease tensions in the community, Trump’s visit will mark the first by either candidate, according to a local leader, Osama Siblani. Earlier this year, Harris met with the city’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, although their discussion took place outside of Dearborn.
Sam Abbas, the owner of The Great Commoner in Dearborn, told The Associated Press that Trump would visit his restaurant.
“We expect some remarks about ending the war and bringing peace to the Middle East,” Abbas said. “I am not here to do politics. I’m not here to tell people which way I’m voting. I’m just here because our family is being slaughtered and we just want to end the war. Stop the bombing.”
Israel occupied Gaza after a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and last month launched an invasion of Lebanon to crack down on Hezbollah, the militia that has repeatedly fired rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between the number of deaths between fighters and civilians.
The Trump campaign declined to comment on the visit. It follows Trump’s rally in Michigan last week, when he brought local Muslims on stage with him. Trump has also received endorsements from two Democratic mayors of Muslim-majority cities.
While many Democratic leaders in the community have not endorsed Harris, they are still deeply negative of Trump and say his endorsements do not reflect the majority of the community. They also recall his call for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the country and his travel restrictions on visitors from Muslim-majority countries. And some point out that Trump has suggested he would give Israel even more leeway to attack its regional rivals.
Still, Democrats worry that traditionally loyal voters could switch to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein — or switch to the top of the ballot altogether. That could be crucial in Michigan, a state that both parties see as a swing state.
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Abbas said Trump allies had contacted him several weeks ago about hosting Trump in Dearborn. Before meeting Trump, Abbas said he wanted to see a statement from Trump that he said showed Trump “has intentions to end the war and help us rebuild Lebanon and help the displaced and wounded.” .
That statement came on Wednesday, when Trump tweeted on X that he wanted to “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon.”
“I will maintain the equal partnership between all Lebanese communities,” Trump said at X. “Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity and harmony with their neighbors, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the Middle East.”
After Trump made the statement, Abbas said he agreed to host the event. It hosts nearly 100 people from the community.
“He’s coming to us to say, look, I did what you asked. My goals, my true goals are to bring peace and end the war,” Abbas said.
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.