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How Trump was able to win support from many Muslim voters in Michigan

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Dearborn, Michigan, is home to one of the country's largest Arab American communities. In 2020, it was a Democratic Party stronghold. This year, it flipped for President-elect Trump. For many in Dearborn, the war in Gaza played a deciding factor in their votes. Nargis Rahman of member Station WDET reports.

NARGIS RAHMAN, BYLINE: Several people are at The Canteen food court in Dearborn, watching TV screens as election results for the presidential race roll in. Among them, Zeinab Chami, a Dearborn Public Schools teacher who voted for the Green Party's nominee, Jill Stein.

ZEINAB CHAMI: I expect really nothing from the national elections. I don't think they're going to change their positions on anything.

RAHMAN: In this year's presidential race, approximately 18% of Dearborn's voters backed Stein. That's about half of what the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, won in the city. Many voters who chose to back a third-party candidate like Stein this election cycle did so citing their disappointment with both major parties over the war in Gaza.

CHAMI: I do agree with the notion that we have to punish the Democratic Party.

RAHMAN: This sentiment could be heard from many in Dearborn. In 2020, Dearborn voters overwhelmingly voted for President Biden. This year, President-elect Donald Trump received the most support out of any presidential candidate, with 42% of the vote in Dearborn. Faye Nemer, founder of the MENA American Chamber of Commerce, says she would have loved to see the first female president, but she voted for Trump.

FAYE NEMER: It is a protest vote because we don't necessarily agree with all of his policies. We would have loved to found a home in the Democratic Party. As a woman, I would have loved to see a woman as president. But unfortunately, that did not manifest for us because she wasn't receptive to our concerns or our community's concerns.

RAHMAN: Throughout the campaign, Trump said he would bring peace to the region. While he provided few details on how, Nemer believed him.

NEMER: I think that's something that resonates very widely with the American public. They're inundated with the endless wars. You know, people are struggling to make ends meet, and they want to make sure that those resources are deployed at home.

RAHMAN: One message she hopes the Harris campaign and Democrats take away from Dearborn's votes is that they can no longer be taken for granted.

NEMER: She felt like, you know, she could cut out the Arab American voting bloc, she could cut out the Muslim American voting bloc and go about her day in winning the election. And I think what this election cycle has proven is we're a part of this American fabric.

RAHMAN: Harris and the Biden administration have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, but both also support continued military aid to Israel, which has angered many voters here. Jumana Judeh, a Palestinian Christian, was among some leaders in the community who publicly endorsed Harris. She did so, she said, as an attempt to block off a Trump victory. But she thinks Harris could have done more. Trump made a brief visit to Dearborn in the final days of his campaign.

JUMANA JUDEH: The fact that he came into the community I think made a big difference. And when I did endorse her, that was the main issue that I said, no one is coming to the community. Next we know, Trump is coming to the community, and she isn't.

RAHMAN: Dr. Yahya Basha, a Syrian American radiologist, has supported Democrats in the past. But this year, he voted for Trump, not just because of the war in Gaza, he says, but also other concerns he has about a Harris presidency.

YAHYA BASHA: She want to have every socialist program or whatever as-left-as-it-goes program. I don't know where she's going to get the money and get the deficit. Definitely, a lot of money get wasted, and the people get stuck with the spending.

RAHMAN: And in this crucial swing state, that combination of motives helped President-elect Trump win 15 electoral votes.

For NPR News, I'm Nargis Rahman in Dearborn, Michigan. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Nargis Rahman