In Dearborn, Arab Americans for Trump celebrate his victory
As the cable news networks called Pennsylvania for Donald Trump, a small crowd of mostly Arab men here at the Lava Java Hookah Lounge erupted into cheers.
It was well past 1am on Wednesday morning and the Arab Americans For Trump election night gathering in Dearborn had turned into a victory party.
Speakers are blasting ‘Mabrook’ - congratulations in Arabic - a popular song by Lebanese singer Ramy Yach which is often played at Arab weddings to celebrate new beginnings.
The small crowd of mostly men clap along. A Times of Israel reporter rushes over to capture the moment on his phone.
“I am excited,” Palestinian-American Nabeel Hamameh, one of the attendees, told Middle East Eye.
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“The country needs a change, and I think Trump is the person to make that change.”
The Trump supporters here are among the majority of voters in Dearborn who appeared to have overwhelmingly backed the former US president and convicted felon in Tuesday’s polls.
But early reports show 47 percent of the city’s voters backing Trump, with 27 percent of votes going to Harris and 21 percent to Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
Here in the city with the largest Arab American majority in the US, Israel’s war on Gaza - and the Biden administration’s handling of it - was a reckoning point for voters who made their displeasure known.
One of them was Bishara Bahbah, the founder of Arab Americans for Trump group, who told MEE that he was ecstatic as Trump edged to victory.
'I think he's got a better relationship with leaders internationally, and I think he will definitely do a better job in reining in the Israeli terror'
- Nabeel Hamameh, Trump supporter
Bahbah, who was born in Jerusalem and is a former researcher at Harvard University, was a Democrat until earlier this year, but swung to Trump over the Gaza war.
He said he hoped the Democrats would learn a lesson for neglecting Palestinian people and their cause.
Hamameh, who stopped his card game to speak with MEE, said he’s always been a Republican and has proudly donned a MAGA hat. Tonight, he’s come in a Trump 2024 shirt.
“[Trump will] probably be more respected worldwide,” Hamameh said. “I think he's got a better relationship with leaders internationally, and I think he will definitely do a better job in reining in the Israeli terror.”
The air grows thick with smoke in the lounge as charcoal is replenished for hookahs. Trump is due to speak from his headquarters in Florida, and his Dearborn supporters are eager to hear what he will say.
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