Trump is the talk of Arab America's capital even if Biden has the edge

At the quintessentially American Yum Yum Delicious Donuts in Dearborn, Tawfik Algahim and his friends – all from Yemen’s Ibb Governorate – dig into an off-menu plate of unsweetened Yemeni biscuits.

Mr Algahim, 48, considers himself a Democrat and voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. This time though, he says he is seriously considering backing Donald Trump.

Yum Yum Delicious Donuts is a popular spot among Dearborn’s Yemeni immigrants to eat breakfast and talk politics. Sophie Tremblay / The National

Yum Yum Delicious Donuts is a popular spot among Dearborn’s Yemeni immigrants to eat breakfast and talk politics. Sophie Tremblay / The National

“As an Arab American, I don’t like some things he did, like the travel ban, but if not for that I would vote for him,” he explains, referring to President Trump’s 2017 order suspending immigration from several mostly Muslim nations.

Mr Trump would be the first Republican that Mr Algahim has voted for, but he says he just can't get behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

“I think Biden is weak. What I like with Trump is that it’s all on the table. He’s a businessman,” he says.

While the number of Arab Americans is only about 1.5 to 2 per cent of Michigan’s electorate, their votes are critical to winning the state.

In 2016, with a majority of only 10,704, Donald Trump flipped the state red for the first time since 1988. If Mr Biden wants to win the race on November 3, then Michigan, Dearborn and its Arab American community will be crucial.

Mr Biden launched a platform aimed directly at the Arab American community – pledging to repeal Mr Trump’s so-called Muslim ban on entry to the US, tackle Islamophobia, and address police relations with Arabs and Muslims.

But, outside the most politically active in Dearborn, there is little evidence that those pitches are resonating on the streets.

Why Dearborn?
Immigration of Arabs, primarily from the Levant, started in the late 19th century and accelerated in the early 1900s when Henry Ford, in desperate need for more workers to fill his assembly lines, looked to the Middle East. Skilled workers from Lebanon, Syria and Egypt played an important role in building America’s cars. To this day many in the community still work for the Ford Motor Company or have family members who do.

Baba Trump

On one of the city's main shopping avenues, nicknamed ‘the souk’, every third store appears to be owned by a family of Arab heritage. The neon Arabic signs often have no English translation.

Inside Prince’s Bakery, Ali Saad wipes sweat from his brow as he takes out man'oushe from the oven. Mr Saad, who immigrated to the US from South Lebanon in 1988, says he’s excited to vote in the election and knows who he backs.

“I’m going for Baba Trump,” he says, affectionately referring to the president. “He stands up for us and he helps us a lot. Especially during the coronavirus, he helped with unemployment and all the employers, the big companies. He’s trying to help the people inside the United States.”

Ali Saad emigrated to the US from South Lebanon in 1988.

Mr Saad says he also likes President Trump’s approach to the Middle East. This is despite his bakery proudly displaying a poster of Lebanon’s Amal Party, whose close ally Hezbollah has been sanctioned several times by the Trump administration.

“Whatever he does in the Middle East, he does to defend his country,” Mr Saad tells The National.

A recent poll of American Muslims by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding shows a rise in support for President Trump. Among Arab-American Muslims, support grew from 12 per cent in 2019 to 21 per cent in 2020.

Ali Saad emigrated to the US from South Lebanon in 1988.

A strip mall in Dearborn Michigan filled with Middle Eastern restaurants and stores. Sophie Tremblay / The National

A woman walks into a discount store in Dearborn, Michigan, that sells imported products from across the Middle East. Sophie Tremblay / The National

A choice between Biden and not voting

Along the souk, there is little enthusiasm for the Democratic candidate, even among those who strongly dislike Mr Trump.

Nadia Hider owns Nadia’s Pharmacy with its electric blue facade on Warren Avenue.

The fourth-generation American isn’t pleased with Mr Trump’s policies towards Muslims and believes his rhetoric has endangered her life as a woman who wears a hijab.

Nadia Hider, who runs a popular Dearborn pharmacy, says she’s planning on voting for herself in this election since she doesn’t support either candidate. Willy Lowry / The National

Nadia Hider, who runs a popular Dearborn pharmacy, says she’s planning on voting for herself in this election since she doesn’t support either candidate. Willy Lowry / The National

“Every single year we go to Disney World [but] this year we didn’t,” she says. “Last year when we went we had people asking us ‘What are you doing here? You’re wearing scarves on your head!’ It just doesn’t feel safe any more.”

But she’s also unconvinced by the alternative.

“I don’t think anything will change with Biden,” she says.

Asked who she plans to back, she says if she votes then it will be for the same person as 2016.

“When Trump ran and there was him and Hillary [Clinton], I put down ‘Nadia Hider,’ I think I was a better choice.”

Nadia's Pharmacy on Warren Avenue serves Dearborn's large Arab-American population. Willy Lowry / The National

Nadia's Pharmacy on Warren Avenue serves Dearborn's large Arab-American population. Willy Lowry / The National

At a late-night backyard gathering, a group of young Arab Americans engages in passionate political discussion as they eat knafeh and sip sweet black tea.

While they identify as Democrats, many in the group are also struggling to find enthusiasm for Mr Biden after their candidate of choice, Senator Bernie Sanders, lost in the primaries.

Mallak Beydoun, Alaa Bazzi, Hussein Dabajeh and Rashid Baydoun gather for a late-night of political discussion. Willy Lowry / The National

Mallak Beydoun, Alaa Bazzi, Hussein Dabajeh and Rashid Baydoun gather for a late-night of political discussion. Willy Lowry / The National

“There was a lot of motivation when Bernie [Sanders] was up on the ticket,” explains Hussein Dabajeh, a local political organiser, who is hosting the evening. “After Bernie lost and it was given to Joe Biden, people here lost a lot of their enthusiasm for this election.”

But, they say, even if he’s not their ideal candidate he is better than the alternative.

“You have to look at the party and the bigger picture as well,” says Nirmeen Fahmy, an Iowa native who recently moved to Dearborn. “You look at Trump’s cabinet, they are literally all old white men and so you have to look at where the opportunity is for our voices to actually mean something and be heard and have our issues be brought to the table.”

On the virtual campaign trail

While most polls show Mr Biden leading Michigan overall, no one expected Mr Trump’s stunning victory in 2016.

If Mr Biden loses just a few thousand votes in the Arab-American community, it could mean that Mr Trump takes the state once again.

That’s something Alabas Farhat is working hard to avoid. The 20-year-old field organiser with the Michigan Democratic Party is in charge of getting people in Dearborn out to vote for the Democrats.

His empty converted commercial space downtown is strewn with campaign posters and takeout boxes as he tirelessly plugs in numbers on his iPhone asking people – in both English and Arabic – if they’re voting.

“In any other election I’d be knocking on doors, running canvassing operations,” he says. “We’d be having people coming in and out of this office and doing in-person events. Now it’s all virtual.”

Mr Farhat and his team of 30 volunteers make 1,000 phone calls a day but it’s hard to tell how effective it is.

“It’s a mixed bag,” he says about enthusiasm among Arab-Americans. “The people who are really fired up are laser-focused on seeing Trump voted out of office. Then you have some people who feel like Trump’s not that bad and have been worn down by the last four years of attrition, then you also have people who are not at all enthusiastic who feel like it's another scenario where they have to pick the lesser of two evils and they just want to protest by not voting,” he says.

Mr Farhat says the Michigan Democrats are working hard not to repeat the mistakes of 2016 and for that, he'll need to keep working right up until election day.