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Michigan is one of the most important swing states for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Now, the Democratic mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, Amer Ghalib, has endorsed Trump for president.
Which is a pretty big deal for the city, the state of Michigan, and the Trump campaign.
Ghalib is Muslim and his city in the only majority Muslim one in the country.
The endorsement comes at a time when many Arab-Americans are increasingly frustrated with the Biden-Harris administration and its handling of the conflict in Gaza.
Mayor Ghalib announced in a statement posted to Facebook that he will “not regret” his decision to support Trump because the former president “is the right choice for this crucial time.”
“President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles,” Ghalib wrote. “Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this crucial time.”
“I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences," he added.
Trump re-shared Ghalib's endorsement on Truth Social.
The New York Post reported Monday, "The 45-year-old mayor met with Trump for 20 minutes on Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, where the former president asked the mayor for his endorsement, Ghalib told the Detroit News."
“[Trump] knew a lot about me before the meeting,” he said
“We talked about various topics including the debates, the polls updates, the statistics of votes in Michigan and Wayne County, the Arab American concerns and the Yemeni Americans in particular,” Ghalib said.
An immigrant from Yemen, he was first elected as the mayor of Hamtramck in 2021 with an impressive 68 percent victory.
Michigan is considered crucial for Trump and Harris. As of Sunday, RealClearPolitics' average put Trump behind Harris in the state by only 1.7%.
In a race this close, Donald Trump needs to do all the outreach that he can to communities that don't traditionally vote Republican.
And he apparently is.
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