Former President Donald Trump made a short stop Friday afternoon in Hamtramck , where he called it an honor to have the endorsement of Mayor Amer Ghalib who, in turn, described the GOP nominee's visit to the city as historic.
"As you know, President Trump keeps saying that our country is in decline, and the ship is sinking. So sometimes it's wise enough to sail against the wave so we can get to the shore safely under the leadership of President Trump and that's why I endorsed President Trump in this area in Wayne County," Ghalib said at an Oakland GOP outpost for Trump in the city home to the first all-Muslim city council in the U.S. Wayne County is a Democratic stronghold where its diverse population represents the Democratic party's coalition and the divides tearing it apart, including fractures over U.S. foreign policy toward Israel.
But Ghalib, who is also Muslim, was focused on past ruptures in the community with Republicans. "We had a history of disconnect and miscommunication with the Republican Party and the party of common sense. Now we are here to end that disconnect," he said. "And (Trump's) visit today is to show respect and appreciation for our community," Ghalib said.
When Trump took the microphone, he promised to end violent conflict abroad. "You know, we all ultimately want one thing. We want peace in the Middle East and we're going to get peace in the Middle East," Trump said. The office where Trump spoke featured signs reading, "PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH."
"We trust you," one man in attendance shouted at Trump.
State Rep. Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck, blasted Trump on the day of his visit, saying Trump hadn't done anything for working families in Detroit and Hamtramck. "He is a lying, xenophobic, self-serving man who is unfit and unworthy of serving as POTUS," Aiyash said in a social media post on X.
The visit was one of six to Michigan on Friday between the two presidential candidates: Trump also did a panel in Auburn Hills and hosted a rally in Detroit , while Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris held rallies in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Waterford Twp. Harris criticized Trump and appealed to union workers, particularly at her stop in Lanisng. Trump participated in a town hall and held a speech at Huntington Center in Detroit, where an apparent microphone problem left him unable to address the crowd for 18 minutes.
When Trump's plane touched down in Michigan earlier in the day, he predicted a fallout in Arab American support for Harris. "Well I don't think they're going to be voting for her because she doesn't know what she's doing," he told reporters.
Ghalib joined other Arab American local leaders to support a movement to vote uncommitted in Michigan's Democratic presidential primary instead of President Joe Biden to protest his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Biden lost to the uncommitted vote in Hamtramck and other Wayne County cities home to large Arab American and Muslim communities.
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The national movement of Democrats mobilizing against the Biden administration's Gaza policies has declined to endorse Harris.
Trump made brief comments on the latest developments in the war, saying the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar makes peace easier. "I'm glad that Bibi decided to do what he had to do," Trump told reporters, referring to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump calls Hamtramck mayor's endorsement an honor
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