Muslim mayor in Michigan endorses Trump for US president, creating challenge for Democrats

A Muslim mayor in the state of Michigan has endorsed Donald Trump for president, possibly creating more difficulty for the Democrats to win the critical swing state in November.

Amer Ghalib, a Yemeni immigrant who made headlines three years ago when he became the first Muslim and Arab mayor of a Muslim-majority-run US city, Hamtramck in southeastern Michigan, had reportedly been courted in recent weeks by Trump to endorse him, a decision he finally made on Sunday.

"He knew a lot about me before the meeting," Ghalib told The Detroit News.

"We talked about various topics including the debates, the polls updates, the statistics of votes in Michigan and Wayne County, the Arab American concerns and the Yemeni Americans in particular. We also talked about the situation in Yemen," the mayor added.

This new endorsement has created yet another challenge for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who has been trying to make inroads with Arab and Muslim voters as she treads carefully on the issue of Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians in the dense enclave since last October.

The war, which is nearing its one-year mark with no end in sight, has become a major focus of the 2024 US presidential election, with the US as the Israel's main weapons supplier that has increased support for its ally over the last year—a position that has fractured the Democratic Party between progressives and the establishment. 

Recent reports show Harris in a dead heat with Green Party candidate Jill Stein among Muslim voters. A late August survey of Muslim voters conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found that 29.4 percent of US Muslim voters plan to vote for Harris, while 29.1 percent plan to vote for Stein. This is followed by 11.2 percent planning to vote for Trump, with the remainder preferring other candidates.

Overall, the two main party candidates are nearly tied in Michigan, with Harris showing a slight lead in most of the state's polls, though falling within the margin of error.

Beyond his recent public statements, it's unclear why Ghalib decided to endorse Trump.

However, given Hamtramck's recent positions in culture war debates relating to gender identity and gay rights, which made national headlines when the city banned the pride flag on public property last year, it's possible that Trump was able to appeal to the mayor's or the city's social conservatism.

Trump, who hadn't had much in the way of rallies scheduled at the end of the week, appeared to have two new Michigan events scheduled by the end of the day on Sunday.