Trump will become the first major candidate in 2024 to visit Arab-majority Dearborn, Michigan

LANSING, Michigan — Donald Trump is set to visit the nation’s Dearborn, Michigan the largest Arab-majority city — on Friday, according to a local business owner who first insisted that the former president called for peace in Lebanon before hosting him.

Metro Detroit is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, with a large portion of them living in Dearborn. The city — which President Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin — has been roiled by political unrest, with many angry at the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

While Vice President Kamala Harris worked surrogates to ease community tensions, Trump’s visit will mark the first for each candidate, according to a local leader, Osama Siblani. Earlier this year, Harris met with the city’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, although their discussion took place outside of Dearborn.

Sam Abbas, owner of The Great Commoner in Dearborn, told The Associated Press that Trump was going to visit his restaurant.

“We expect some remarks about ending the war and bringing peace to the Middle East,” Abbas said. “I am not here to do politics. I’m not here to tell people which way I vote. I am here simply because our family is being slaughtered and we just want to end the war. Stop the bombing.”

Israel invaded Gaza after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and last month launched an invasion of Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, the militia that has continuously fired rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatant and civilian deaths.

Trump’s campaign declined to comment on the visit. It follows Trump’s rally in Michigan last week, when he brought local Muslims with him on stage. Trump also received endorsements from two Democratic mayors of Muslim-majority cities.

While many Democratic leaders in the community have Harris did not claimthey are still deeply negative about Trump and say his endorsements do not reflect the majority of the community. They also recall his call for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the country and his travel restrictions on visitors from Muslim-majority countries. And some point out that Trump has hinted that he will give Israel even more freedom to attack its rivals in the region.

Even so, Democrats worry that traditionally loyal voters may switch to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein, or skip the ballot. That could prove crucial in Michigan, a state that both parties see as a letdown.

Abbas said Trump’s allies contacted him a few weeks ago about hosting Trump in Dearborn. Before hosting Trump, Abbas said he wanted to see a statement from Trump that showed Trump “has intentions to end the war and help us rebuild Lebanon and help the displaced and injured.” .

That statement came Wednesday, when Trump posted on X that he wanted to “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon.”

“I will preserve the equal partnership between all Lebanese communities,” Trump said at X. “Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity and harmony with their neighbors, and that can only happen with peace and stability in Lebanon . Middle east.”

Once Trump released the statement, Abbas said he agreed to host the event. Almost 100 people from the community are expected.

“He’s coming to us to say, look, we did what you asked. My intentions, my true intentions are to bring peace and end war,” Abbas said.

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Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.