Mayor of America’s only majority-Muslim city reveals who he is endorsing for president
The mayor of a Muslim-majority Michigan city has endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Amer Ghalib, mayor of Hamtramck, a suburb of Detroit, made the announcement in a passionate Facebook post on Sunday.
The statement came days after the Yemeni-born Democrat met Trump in Flint, after which he personally invited the politician to his city, which has become a magnet for immigrants from countries including Yemen, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
This paved the way for the resounding show of support, in which the former commander-in-chief was described as “the right choice for this critical time”, despite the two “disagreeing”[ing] on everything,’
The 45-year-old former health care worker went on to describe Trump as “a man of principle” — a claim the Republican subsequently reposted on Truth Social.
Amer Ghalib, mayor of Hamtramck, a suburb of Detroit, has endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Ghalib announced the show of support in a passionate Facebook post on Sunday. It came two days after he met with the former commander in chief for 20 minutes in Flint, where he was asked for his support.
“It looks good, but he might win the election and not become the 47th president of the United States,” Ghalib began his message in Arabic.
‘I will not regret my decision, whatever the outcome, and I am prepared to face the consequences.
‘For these and many other reasons, I am announcing my support and endorsement for former and hopefully next President of the United States, Donald Trump.
“Let the Caravan now begin its journey,” he decided. “This is only the beginning.”
A few days earlier, after a private 20-minute meeting with the former president in Flint, Ghalib told The Detroit News in a text message: ‘[Trump] knew a lot about me before the meeting.
“We talked about a variety of topics, including the debates, the latest polls, the voting statistics in Michigan and Wayne County, the concerns of Arab-American citizens and particularly the concerns of Yemeni Americans,” the political newcomer continued.
“We also discussed the situation in Yemen.”
The 45-year-old former health care worker went on to portray Trump as “a man of principles” — a claim the Republican subsequently reposted on Truth Social
Hamtramck, a refugee haven, is the only Muslim-majority city in the U.S. It is home to more than 100,000 Arabs from Michigan who voted “Uncommitted” in the Democratic primary
Trump meanwhile said on Sunday Breitbart News how he was ‘very impressed with [Ghalib]’, during a nearly hour-long phone call that followed Ghalib’s sudden approval.
“He was a big fan of the Trump administration because he didn’t see any wars — other than defeating ISIS, but I inherited that — but there were no wars,” Trump told the news site.
“There was no October 7th. There was no Russian attack on Ukraine,” he continued. “He sees that and he told me — he saw a world that was at peace.
“Now we have a world that is going into World War III and I can stop that,” the Republican continued, just over 40 days before his looming showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris. “I’m the only one who can stop that.”
In his texts with the Detroit News, Ghalib further revealed that Trump was the one who had asked for his support, as the state’s 15 electoral votes in the Great Lakes region were largely at stake.
Democrats and Republicans won there alternately in 2020 and 2016.
“He asked me if I would support him and ask people to vote for him?” Ghalib claimed, adding that he may discuss more details about the new correspondence between the two in a video or in future social media posts.
His support for Trump comes as the Great Lakes state’s 15 electoral votes appear largely up for grabs, with Democrats and Republicans battling it out in 2020 and 2016.
“I said to him, ‘I’m here to talk about that and how we can make that happen.’
“I then handed him an official letter detailing our concerns and inviting him to come to Hamtramck if possible.”
On Saturday, Ghalib appeared on Breitbart News, where he again praised the presidential candidate before officially endorsing him.
“I spoke to President Trump about some of the statistics about Wayne County. It used to be a Democratic stronghold and we always voted Democratic,” Ghalib said of the “very productive meeting” in Flint.
‘That is no longer the case here.’
He told Breitbart that neither he nor Trump want any new wars as the conflict in Gaza continues with no end in sight.
Last year, Ghalib was part of a group of Hamtramck residents who met with controversial conservative activist Michael Flynn, a former Army general and Trump’s first national security adviser. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
He was later pardoned by then-President Trump before visiting Hamtramck, a town of about 27,000, last year.
Ghalib had been elected mayor of the only all-Muslim U.S. city the year before, defeating incumbent Mayor Karen Majewski
The victory marked the first time in 100 years that a non-Polish person held the position, in a city where more than 40 percent of the city’s population was born abroad.
The year before, Ghalib had been elected mayor of the only American city governed entirely by Muslims, defeating incumbent Mayor Karen Majewski.
It was the first time in 100 years that a non-Pole had held the position, in a city where more than 40 percent of the population was of foreign origin.
If Trump wins Michigan, Harris’ path to the presidency suddenly becomes much more questionable, as more than 100,000 Michigan Arabs voted “not interested” in the Democratic primary.
That’s nearly the entire margin between Biden and Trump in Michigan’s 2020 election, meaning the voter bloc could swing the presidential election either way.
Hamtramck, a haven for refugees, is the only Muslim-majority city in the US.