Some in Dearborn, Michigan ‘think we screwed up’ following Trump’s remarks on Gaza
Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza sparked significant outrage in Dearborn, Michigan, known for its Arab American community.
TroibNews 
Donald Trump won Dearborn, Michigan, a historically Democratic stronghold for Arab Americans, fueled mainly by dissatisfaction with Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s approach to Israel.
Regrets are beginning to surface among some residents.
Trump's announcement of a plan to “take over” Gaza and relocate nearly 2 million Palestinians to neighboring countries has led to silence from two mayors in the area who once campaigned for him. Many residents in Dearborn have been left appalled by Trump’s comments regarding Palestinians.
In response to Trump's remarks, Osama Siblani, editor of Dearborn's Arab American News, expressed that people in the community are feeling "extreme anger and disappointment with this president who lied to this community to steal some of their votes." He predicted that Trump's proposal would "fail" and criticized him, stating, “acting like a leader of a gangster group and not the most powerful nation in the world. Disgrace.”
An anonymous leader in Dearborn reported a sense of remorse among those in the Arab American community who supported Trump or abstained from voting, acknowledging that they “think we screwed up but we’re not going to admit it.”
Trump’s comments, which took many by surprise and were quickly minimized by his staff, revealed the deep political rifts within a community affected by the ongoing conflict that has resulted in the deaths of over 46,000 Palestinians and devastated the region.
Recently, Arab Americans celebrated a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which some attributed to Trump’s involvement just days before his inauguration. However, following his latest comments—which included a notion to transform Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”—disappointment resurfaced. The group Arab Americans for Trump quickly rebranded itself as Arab Americans for Peace shortly after Trump announced the U.S. would assume control of Gaza.
“Gaza will always be part of a future Palestinian state, not a casino resort,” noted Sam Baydoun, a Democratic Wayne County commissioner from Dearborn.
In Baydoun's city, Trump’s statements and his alignment with Israel rekindled debates that had been intensifying before the November elections. A number of Arab Americans there—historically Democratic voters—either abstained from the election, backed third-party candidate Jill Stein, or switched their allegiance to Trump, frustrated with the Biden administration’s support for Israel and critical of Harris for not advocating for an arms embargo.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi and Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib campaigned with Trump, asserting he would fulfill his promise to establish peace in the Middle East. In contrast, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud emerged as a voice for the “uncommitted” movement, leading anti-war protests across college campuses and refusing to support Harris.
This week, neither Bazzi nor Ghalib responded to multiple requests for comments. On X, Hammoud criticized Trump’s proposal as “yet another chapter in the ongoing genocide” and described the suggestion of U.S. military involvement in Gaza as “morally indefensible.”
After Trump revealed his plans for Gaza alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aides speculated that it might be a negotiation tactic to bolster Israel's position against Hamas in the context of the cease-fire agreement.
In the aftermath, officials from Trump’s administration aimed to mitigate the backlash, including from some Capitol Hill Republicans, by reinterpreting Trump’s comments as a pathway to lasting peace.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted that Trump has not committed to deploying troops to Gaza and emphasized that the U.S. would not cover rebuilding costs, declaring that any relocation of Palestinians would only be temporary and praising the initiative as an “out-of-the-box idea.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized it as a “very generous” offer for Palestinian relocation during Gaza's reconstruction, devastated by over a year of warfare.
However, Trump reaffirmed his position on Thursday, contradicting officials who sought to clarify his statements. “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the U.S. would collaborate with global development teams to cultivate what could become “one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth.”
Some Arab Americans interpreted Trump's intentions to remove Gazans as a veiled endorsement of ethnic cleansing, expressing skepticism that such an idea would ever become reality. A move of that magnitude would signify the most substantial U.S. involvement in the Middle East since the Iraq war.
While criticism of Trump is prevalent, there is no consensus in Dearborn that Harris would have been an improvement.
“For those of us who voted against the Democratic Party, in whatever form that was … we understood that we would get this guy, and we understood that we would have to deal with this kind of stuff,” remarked Amer Zahr, a progressive activist in Dearborn. “But ultimately we don’t believe that we are to blame for this. The Democrats could have solved this problem back in the summer. Our price for supporting Harris was really low — all we asked for was, ‘Say that you would consider an arms embargo against Israel.’ And she wasn’t willing to do that.”
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
Regrets are beginning to surface among some residents.
Trump's announcement of a plan to “take over” Gaza and relocate nearly 2 million Palestinians to neighboring countries has led to silence from two mayors in the area who once campaigned for him. Many residents in Dearborn have been left appalled by Trump’s comments regarding Palestinians.
In response to Trump's remarks, Osama Siblani, editor of Dearborn's Arab American News, expressed that people in the community are feeling "extreme anger and disappointment with this president who lied to this community to steal some of their votes." He predicted that Trump's proposal would "fail" and criticized him, stating, “acting like a leader of a gangster group and not the most powerful nation in the world. Disgrace.”
An anonymous leader in Dearborn reported a sense of remorse among those in the Arab American community who supported Trump or abstained from voting, acknowledging that they “think we screwed up but we’re not going to admit it.”
Trump’s comments, which took many by surprise and were quickly minimized by his staff, revealed the deep political rifts within a community affected by the ongoing conflict that has resulted in the deaths of over 46,000 Palestinians and devastated the region.
Recently, Arab Americans celebrated a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which some attributed to Trump’s involvement just days before his inauguration. However, following his latest comments—which included a notion to transform Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”—disappointment resurfaced. The group Arab Americans for Trump quickly rebranded itself as Arab Americans for Peace shortly after Trump announced the U.S. would assume control of Gaza.
“Gaza will always be part of a future Palestinian state, not a casino resort,” noted Sam Baydoun, a Democratic Wayne County commissioner from Dearborn.
In Baydoun's city, Trump’s statements and his alignment with Israel rekindled debates that had been intensifying before the November elections. A number of Arab Americans there—historically Democratic voters—either abstained from the election, backed third-party candidate Jill Stein, or switched their allegiance to Trump, frustrated with the Biden administration’s support for Israel and critical of Harris for not advocating for an arms embargo.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi and Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib campaigned with Trump, asserting he would fulfill his promise to establish peace in the Middle East. In contrast, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud emerged as a voice for the “uncommitted” movement, leading anti-war protests across college campuses and refusing to support Harris.
This week, neither Bazzi nor Ghalib responded to multiple requests for comments. On X, Hammoud criticized Trump’s proposal as “yet another chapter in the ongoing genocide” and described the suggestion of U.S. military involvement in Gaza as “morally indefensible.”
After Trump revealed his plans for Gaza alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aides speculated that it might be a negotiation tactic to bolster Israel's position against Hamas in the context of the cease-fire agreement.
In the aftermath, officials from Trump’s administration aimed to mitigate the backlash, including from some Capitol Hill Republicans, by reinterpreting Trump’s comments as a pathway to lasting peace.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted that Trump has not committed to deploying troops to Gaza and emphasized that the U.S. would not cover rebuilding costs, declaring that any relocation of Palestinians would only be temporary and praising the initiative as an “out-of-the-box idea.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized it as a “very generous” offer for Palestinian relocation during Gaza's reconstruction, devastated by over a year of warfare.
However, Trump reaffirmed his position on Thursday, contradicting officials who sought to clarify his statements. “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the U.S. would collaborate with global development teams to cultivate what could become “one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth.”
Some Arab Americans interpreted Trump's intentions to remove Gazans as a veiled endorsement of ethnic cleansing, expressing skepticism that such an idea would ever become reality. A move of that magnitude would signify the most substantial U.S. involvement in the Middle East since the Iraq war.
While criticism of Trump is prevalent, there is no consensus in Dearborn that Harris would have been an improvement.
“For those of us who voted against the Democratic Party, in whatever form that was … we understood that we would get this guy, and we understood that we would have to deal with this kind of stuff,” remarked Amer Zahr, a progressive activist in Dearborn. “But ultimately we don’t believe that we are to blame for this. The Democrats could have solved this problem back in the summer. Our price for supporting Harris was really low — all we asked for was, ‘Say that you would consider an arms embargo against Israel.’ And she wasn’t willing to do that.”
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
