Now, they want nothing to do with him \u2014 and are souring on the GOP overall.<\/p>\n

Many Detroit-area Arab Americans, who swung hard to Trump over the war in Gaza and cost-of-living issues, are now saying they\u2019re fed up with the ongoing war in Iran and slow peace process in Gaza. It\u2019s a shift that could have direct consequences on the battle for Senate control, with former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers fighting to hold onto Trump\u2019s 2024 gains against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim whose parents are Egyptian immigrants.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s perceived broken promises \u2014 exacerbated by GOP attacks against El-Sayed that some see as Islamophobic and racist \u2014 are pushing these voters out of reach for Rogers.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Trump] promised to make America great again,\u201d said Albert Abbas, who presented a peace prize<\/u><\/a> to Trump during his 2024 Dearborn visit. \u201cDid he do that? Did he put American interests first? It’s the complete opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

A dip in support from Arab American former Trump voters could hurt Rogers\u2019 path to election in what\u2019s shaping up to be a tough year nationally for the GOP. And it could offset gains he makes in other communities \u2014 including with some Jewish voters<\/u><\/a> who are wary of El-Sayed for his harsh criticism of Israel<\/u><\/a> and comments from him and his allies that some<\/u><\/a> see as antisemitic. Both communities matter significantly in close elections, and Michigan has the largest proportion of Arab Americans in the country, with nearly 400,000<\/u><\/a> living in the state, as well as more than 100,000 Jews<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michigan Republicans \u2014 who, just two years ago, dreamed of building sustainable support among the state\u2019s Arab American population \u2014 now see community leaders shifting ranks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the administration got into the White House, everything we were told kind of flip-flopped,\u201d said Hassan Nehme, who served as the Michigan Republican Party\u2019s vice chair during the 2024 cycle and helped lead outreach to the Arab American community. \u201cWe lost all traction. Republicans are kind of dead in the water in the area right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dearborn-based Imam Husham Al-Husainy backed Trump in 2024 and was slated to offer a benediction<\/u><\/a> at the inauguration but was removed from the program after complaints from pro-Israel conservatives. He said he now backs El-Sayed because Trump recanted on his promise for \u201cno new wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amer Ghalib, a former Democratic mayor of Muslim-majority Hamtramck, backed Trump in 2024, and was later nominated by Trump to serve as ambassador to Kuwait, though he didn\u2019t get confirmed in the face of bipartisan concerns about a history of allegedly antisemitic remarks<\/u><\/a>. He said Republicans \u201cshould be more concerned about losing the long-term trust of the Arab American community than about losing the gains they made in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a tremendous work that needs to be done \u2026 to address people’s concerns and regain their trust,\u201d Ghalib said.<\/p>\n

And Faye Nemer, who leads the Dearborn-based Middle Eastern and North African American Chamber of Commerce, said the midterms will mark a \u201cchange in sentiment\u201d in her community toward Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany voters, including myself, are now asking whether the policy promises we received bear any resemblance to the reality that we’re seeing on the ground,\u201d said Nemer.<\/p>\n

Rogers has not shied away from branding his opponent as a Muslim extremist. He\u2019s hammered El-Sayed for campaigning with Hasan Piker, a prominent and controversial left-wing influencer who\u2019s drawn accusations of antisemitism<\/a>, as well as slamming El-Sayed for responding to an attack on a Michigan synagogue earlier this year by condemning it but saying “hurt people hurt people”<\/a> because members of the attacker’s family had been killed by the Israeli military in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed has condemned antisemitism throughout his campaign; in a statement distancing himself from Piker last week, he said \u201cAntisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms\u201d) On Saturday he apologized for his remarks after the synagogue attack,telling a group of Jewish Democrats<\/a> that he’d “made a mistake” and that “nobody deserves to have their pain trampled on.”<\/p>\n

Rogers\u2019 allies have also circulated reports<\/a> from conservative outlets that seek to link El-Sayed\u2019s father-in-law to the Muslim Brotherhood.<\/p>\n