The little-known 66-year-old on the other side of the table makes a bold claim.
– He says: I hold the key to deciding the American elections.
Then he pulled out a business card: “Arab Americans for Trump.”
They are the voters that Trump never thought he would secure, but who can now decide the entire election for him.
– We are a group of voters who sit on the edge of the most important of all Swing states. We will bring down Joe Biden and help Trump come to power, says Dr. Bishara Bahbah.
Background: Protest elections could bring down Joe Biden
The Palestinian-born American is not just anyone. He was an advisor to the former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat Oslo process.
He is Palestinian to his core, as he was when he left in 1976 to study in the United States. In 1988 he became an American citizen.
After a long life as an academic, he now enters politics wholeheartedly. With one goal in mind:
– I want to punish Joe Biden. Not only is he complicit in the genocide of my people, he is the worst war criminal, believes the founder of a new political pressure group.
He explained that without American weapons and the strong support from Biden, Israel’s war would have ended a long time ago.
Bahbah considers himself non-partisan. He voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, but chose Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
In 2020, he again opposed Trump and voted for Joe Biden, like the vast majority of Arab Americans.
– When he was president last time, Trump said a lot that was very insulting to all Arabs and Muslims, says Bahbah.
VIDEO: Here's why he thinks Biden can never be tolerated:
In his previous term as President of the United States, Trump was considered extremely hostile towards Muslims and Arab Americans.
The main reason was the “Muslim ban,” as the American media called it: a presidential order signed by Trump banning the entry of people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen (and initially also Iraq).
An American expert on Gaza affairs: The United States fears opening a new front
In addition, Trump became known for a number of other actions that sparked Arab and Muslim anger.
- Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem. Thus, he denied that East Jerusalem was part of the occupied West Bank.
- He acknowledged that the occupied Golan Heights are subject to Israeli sovereignty, even though they belong to Syria under international law.
- Trump succeeded in convincing the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to conclude a peace agreement with Israel, and worked to reach a controversial peace agreement that most Palestinians oppose.
In those cases, Trump was a huge disappointment to the Palestinians, but Biden was ten times worse.
Bahbah lives in Arizona, and will vote in that state.
Although it is also a state that Biden narrowly won in the last election, the fight is not here now.
In Arizona, Trump leads by a large margin. Arab Americans for Trump turns its sights to a very different state: Michigan.
In Michigan, about half a million people of Arab descent live, the vast majority of them in Dearborn, a city located on the outskirts of Detroit.
In the previous presidential election, Biden won the state by just under 154,000 votes, while in the February primary, more than 130,000 votes voted blank in protest against Biden.
Thus the “Abandon Biden” movement, which called for blank votes, received significant national attention.
American Jews are divided over the war: – Disgusting
Number crushers i The New York Times It was concluded that Biden He should Winning three crucial states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan specifically.
Biden is clearly behind Trump in his home state, Pennsylvania. The narrowest margin is in Michigan, where Biden is betting heavily on closing the gap.
– We will resolve the entire elections, and we will take credit for this victory. Then Trump will listen to us and respect us, says Mike Hasham, the Michigan representative for Arab Americans for Trump.
We went to campaign meetings with Trump where he promised to “stand with Israel in its fight against terrorism.” Do you think he will follow a different policy than Biden?
– Absolutely. Trump also said he could end the war. Hasham believes that Netanyahu respects Trump, but uses Biden as a doormat.
We do not have two ideal candidates, but rather we choose from among those whose hands are not stained with blood, explains Bahbah.
Their movement now cooperates with “Abandon Biden,” but thus encourages going beyond just a blank vote.
-We think Trump is also a better choice because it is much better for the economy. Arabs are merchants. Bahbah explains that we are culturally conservative, so on many issues of value we are closer to Republicans.
Hisham was one of the few in the Arab region who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 as well.
– I always thought it was the best choice for the country, and for us Arab Americans. But there was a part of the community here that didn't like that I voted for Trump, he says.
– If Arab voters sit at home or vote zero in protest, we will forfeit our right to vote. So we should vote en masse for Trump this time, says Bahbah.
If the “Arab Americans for Trump” movement wants to succeed in convincing the Arab community in Michigan, it must convince the leaders of the “Abandon Biden” movement.
Therefore, they met Dr. Ali Alaa, who became an important voice in that movement.
– This community votes together. “I was actually skeptical about Joe Biden last time, but out of loyalty to the community as a whole, I voted for him anyway,” he says.
– This time I would rather vote for Satan himself than vote for Biden. I will do absolutely everything for him to lose, and for him to be punished for the murders of my people. “I am responding to the arguments of ‘Arab Americans with Trump,’” the doctor says.
Dr. Ali Alaa became an outspoken face in the movement, and traveled to Washington to meet with Democratic Party politicians who oppose American support for Israel.
Why he became such an important voice is tragic, but it is an example of what almost every member of his family in Gaza has witnessed.
My brother Muhammad was shot by an Israeli soldier when he was going to get water for his family. A total of 127 of his relatives were killed. Just three days ago my uncle died. I hold Biden directly responsible for these deaths.
Video: Watch the doctor explain why Biden is held responsible:
– What do you think of Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7?
– It's unfortunate, and it should never have happened. At the same time, I believe that Hamas arose as a result of decades of Israeli oppression, which created extremist people who saw no other way out.
– What do you think of the way Trump talks about the war?
-I don't like a lot of what Trump says. But there is a difference between political statements and what he actually does. Trump is not responsible for the genocide of my relatives.
We must vote based on what is best for our people. In the next election, the best thing to do is to support Trump, or perhaps a third candidate, if someone has the opportunity. But the most important thing for us is that Biden loses.
It was supposed to be a day of celebration. But they have a bitter taste in the mouth.
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