WASHINGTON: When Donald Trump won his comeback campaign, he credited the mayor of a small Detroit suburb with helping him make inroads with Michigan’s Arab American community. As a reward, Trump nominated Amer Ghalib to serve as US ambassador to Kuwait.
But Ghalib is not on his way to the oil-rich nation in the Arabian Gulf. Instead, he is still in Hamtramck, population 30,000, after his nomination stalled because of opposition from Trump’s fellow Republicans.
It’s not clear whether the White House will submit Ghalib’s name again, and he said it does not matter either way: “I’m not interested in it anymore.”
The nomination’s unraveling has exacerbated tensions between Republicans and an Arab American community that, dissatisfied with Democratic President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, helped send Trump back to the White House. Although Trump was successful in 2024, a key constituency may not be there for his party in the November midterm elections, when control of Congress is up for grabs.
“It’s hard for me to try and convince the community to vote again Republican in 2026 and 2028 with this kind of an atmosphere,” said Bishara Bahbah, who chaired Arab Americans for Trump.
