John Jefferson
Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, the only Muslim-majority city in the United States, has endorsed the former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential race. Ghalib was first elected as mayor of Hamtramck in 2021, alongside an all-Muslim city council, highlighting the changing demographics of the once heavily Polish city.
“President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles,” Ghalib wrote in a Facebook post. “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.”
Ghalib offered his support to Trump at a meeting with the former president last week in Flint. Ghalib was born in Yemen, but immigrated to the United States at the age of 17.
Ghalib and Hamtramck’s city council have exhibited a socially conservative streak in the past, with the council voting in 2023 to remove the LGBT pride flag from public property. “You do not know our city more than we do, and you will not know the consequences of opening the door for every group to fly their flag on city properties,” Ghalib stated at the time.
The endorsement of Trump by Ghalib is notable. Michigan is unique among the swing-states for its large Arab-American population. A recent poll conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found Muslim voters in Michigan to be split in their support of the major party candidates, with 18 percent favoring Trump and 12 percent favoring Harris. The same poll, however, found that Jill Stein, the candidate of the Green Party, earning the support of 40 percent of Muslim voters, a significant plurality.
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