Trump and American Muslims

Various media outlets often label former President Donald Trump as an anti-Muslim populist. With headlines like “Trump’s Islamophobia” and “Trump’s horrifying words about Muslims,” a left-wing stigma is created to largely demonize the Republican candidate. Notably, these media outlets often create a fanciful contrasting picture between him and Democratic politicians who are shown as virtuous, thoughtful of all minorities, and welcoming of every religious group, especially Muslims. Forging this contrasting picture is crucial to sway Americans away from any acceptance of the former president, especially as Americans are clearly sensitive to any public hint of bigotry or racism.

But what can we tell about the general attitudes of Arab Muslims, internationally and nationally, toward Trump?

On an international level, Trump is significantly admired by many Arab Muslim leaders, who value his pragmatism and policies, viewing him as a strong and confident leader. They like how he is a realistic leader who seeks to cut good deals. His assertiveness makes him respected, admired, and even pursued as a world leader who can get things done.

Consider one revealing example: When Trump took office in 2017, his first international trip was to Saudi Arabia—the birthplace of Islam and the most cherished country for the vast majority of Muslims. Choosing Saudi Arabia was very strategic for Trump. Saudi King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Trump with unmatched celebrations, evidenced by the king granting him Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honor. Saudis were eager to establish strong economic and military deals with the American president, and they successfully signed deals worth more than $350 billion.

The Saudis don’t seem to see him as anti-Muslim. They likely understand the American media propaganda and view Trump as a president who would share some of their interests. In fact, during that visit, Trump gave a speech, asserting his hopes for “a peaceful vision of Islam.” Trump didn’t shy away from disclosing his views on radical Islam. Surrounded by Arab Muslim leaders and diplomats, Trump spoke about radical Islamic terrorism and intended that his speech would convey “a common vision of peace, progress and prosperity.”

This picture reflects a leader who knows what he has to offer and how to play his political cards well. These Saudi leaders continued to work with Trump through his presidency and, with their blessing and approval, he successfully brokered one of the best political and economic deals ever cut in the modern history of the Middle East: the Abraham Accords. These were bilateral agreements on normalization between Israel and many Arab nations. In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, Saudi government insiders in 2022 said the crown prince wasn’t impressed with President Joe Biden and that he preferred Trump.

American Muslims are often in a love-hate relationship with both political parties in the United States, making it a complicated picture. But for certain we shouldn’t assume that Arab Muslims will automatically refrain from voting for Trump.

On the one hand, because the mainstream media continues to depict Trump as anti-Muslim, there is no doubt that many Muslims dislike him. But as a religious group, they clearly share his conservative dispositions on some social, political, and economic matters. They don’t want wars in the Middle East, nor do they want high taxes or approve the left’s explicit attempts to indoctrinate their children on LGBTQ matters. While in the past two decades, Muslims aligned themselves mostly with the Democratic Party (especially after 9/11 and the war in Iraq), the Republicans’ social conservatism wins over many Arab Americans, and the unity between Muslims and the Democratic Party is clearly on shaky ground.

On the other hand, the Israel-Hamas war is an important issue during this election cycle. Many Muslims have voiced dissatisfaction with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and threatened to vote them out. This is evident in the recently formed Arab Americans for Trump group, as well as the disbanding of the short-lived Muslim Women for Harris, which declared that it could no longer support her. Indeed, Muslims don’t think that Trump will be better than Biden (or Harris) regarding Israel, but, at least for now, it is plausible that they wouldn’t automatically vote for Harris.

It’s a good strategy that Trump has already begun diligent efforts to win the Arab Muslim vote.

Arguably, the Muslim vote will largely be inconsequential except in Michigan. We should also recognize that Arab Americans are not only Muslim, but there’s a large portion of Christians and Jews. With all these thoughts in mind, we can question whether American Muslims will not vote as a bloc for the Democratic ticket.

At least we should hope they see what is at stake with a possible Harris win.