It's easier to persuade people now. At the end of the summer, I had 100 Trump signs, now only a few are left.
Mike Hacham eats melon in his tidy living room while explaining his stance ahead of the presidential election. He grew up in Dearborn, in an entrepreneurial family that immigrated from Lebanon. Conservatism has been present from the beginning, both when it comes to economics and social issues such as same-sex marriage. The wars raging in the Middle East, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris "not having a grip on the world", contribute to his stance.
You have to speak out when genocide occurs, he says, referring to Israel's warfare in Gaza.
If Trump had been president, we wouldn't be in this situation.
Forget the middle class?
Despite his commitment to getting Donald Trump elected, Hacham doesn't consider himself a "Trumpist" first and foremost, but a Republican. And he is policy-oriented.
If the Democrats' policies are good, I support them. But now everything is too expensive: gasoline, food, housing. If Kamala wins the election, we can forget the middle class.
In Dearborn, outside Detroit, one of the largest populations with origins in the Arab world lives in the USA. The fact that Trump, during his presidency, made the sensitive decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and introduced travel bans from certain Muslim countries does not affect his and his neighbors' image of the former president, says Hacham.
Trump is a businessman and adapts to make different "deals". He can negotiate. And unlike Biden, he doesn't have a close relationship with (Israel's Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu.
Eroding support
Mike Hacham's commitment could have major consequences for the election outcome.
In 2020, nearly 70 percent of Michigan's approximately 300,000 Americans with origins in the Arab world voted for Joe Biden. But support has eroded, mainly due to the White House's support for Israel during the wars in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
If Hacham can convince his neighbors not to just follow the so-called Uncommitted movement and vote blank, but to actually support Trump, the Democrats risk losing the swing state that is part of the party's blue "brand wall".
If that happens, the likelihood is high that Trump will move into the White House in January. Four years ago, Joe Biden's margin of victory here was a total of 154,000 votes.
Tina Magnergård Bjers/TT
Facts: Why Michigan can decide the election
TTTT
The 15-electoral-vote-heavy Michigan is one of seven so-called swing states in the USA, places where the balance between Republican and Democratic majorities is at stake. Since the outcome is predictable in the other states, it is in the swing states that this autumn's presidential election will be decided.
Alongside Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Michigan forms what is called the "blue brand wall", which is considered critical for a Democratic victory in the presidential election.
In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton in Michigan by just 10,700 votes. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump by 154,000 votes. In the populous county of Wayne County, where Dearborn is located, it was very close.
According to a survey published by the Arab American Institute in May, the Democrats have lost at least 90,000 votes in Michigan, mainly voters critical of the White House's support for Israel in the wars in the Middle East.
During the spring, Trump had the lead in Michigan. After Joe Biden's withdrawal in the summer, support for the party's current presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, increased, and she briefly surpassed Trump – who now leads the state again, by an average of 1.2 percentage points.
Sources: AP and Real Clear Politics
