Trump and Clinton End Their Campaigns with Arab American Voters in Michigan
Trump Rally from Arab America on Vimeo.
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
The presidential race in Michigan was closer than ever last week, forcing both major party candidates to make a final push in the state before Election Day. Donald Trump made an appearance in Sterling Heights on Sunday, and then Grand Rapids on Monday. Hillary Clinton made a final speech at Grand Valley State University, which is near Grand Rapids, and brought along her top surrogates: Bill Clinton and President Obama. The children of both Clinton and Trump also campaigned throughout the state these last two days, emphasizing just how crucial it is in the election’s outcome.
While in Sterling Heights, Donald Trump spoke fervently about national security. A quarter Sterling Heights’ population is comprised of immigrants, mostly from the Middle East. City residents are largely Arab American Christians and Chaldeans, with a growing Arab Muslim population, too. Undoubtedly, some of these Arab Americans and Chaldeans showed up to the Trump rally, where he told supporters that Syrian refugees were threatening the safety of the country. The crowd cheered loudly as Trump reiterated his infamous ban on Syrian migrants coming into the country.
Trump also spoke to the Sterling Heights crowd about how Michigan has seen for itself the debilitating effects of welcoming refugees. Michigan has accepted more refugees from Syria than any other state in the country. There is little to no evidence that these refugees have committed any crimes, let alone terrorism, but the crowd agreed with Trump’s statements.
According to Trump, Arab migrants also put the safety of school children at risk. However, evidence indicates that Arab, Muslim, and South Asian children are actually of the most bullied children at school. Most face verbal harassment, but others have suffered from physical violence, as well, from their fellow students.
Additionally, white students are more likely to bring weapons to school than any other demographic. Onlookers worry that Trump’s false statements about the threat of Arab immigrants could foster a chilling and unfriendly relationship between Arab and non-Arab Sterling Heights residents.
When he spoke the next day in Grand Rapids at his final campaign rally, Trump reaffirmed his Syrian refugee ban once again, as well as his commitment to building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
While Trump was disparaging Syrian refugees for what many hope will be the final time, former President Bill Clinton was touring some of Dearborn’s finest Arab American establishments.
Five percent of Michigan’s population is Arab American and the Clinton campaign seems to care about that fact. Bill Clinton visited Super Greenland market, where he learned about Arab foods, such as kousa, and listened to the concerns of Arab Americans working there.
Bill Clinton meets Arab Zucchini (Kousa) in Dearborn Michigan . Precious. via @firas_nabil pic.twitter.com/lH9Kc5dsgD
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) November 6, 2016
Bill Clinton also made his way to the famous Lebanese restaurant, Al-Ameer, which has been a long-standing icon for Arab American culture in Michigan. While at Al-Ameer, Clinton spoke with local Arab American leaders, such as Susan Dabaja.
#BillClinton in East Dearborn, enjoying some authentic Lebanese food at Al-Ameer 🇱🇧🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/tvbPL0Zvnp
— Ali B. (@_Ali__B) November 7, 2016
President Obama also campaigned on behalf of Hillary Clinton. He spoke to a young crowd at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. One of the reasons President Obama used to push the attendees to vote for Clinton was the fact that Trump doesn’t know the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam. Obama said it is imperative for a president to know this information in an attempt to appeal to Arab American and Muslim voters.
Since Michigan has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, their votes today could quite literally determine this election, and both campaigns know that. However, only one campaign appealed to Arab American voters, and that was Clinton’s. Her war hawk history and policy proposals for the Arab world can stop many Arab Americans from voting Democrat today, but her campaign’s willingness to at least speak to Arab Americans has not gone unnoticed.