Mayor on Russian TV network

Mayor Amer Ghalib was recently interviewed on Russian RT television, a media network that is considered a propaganda outlet for the Russian government.

By Charles Sercombe
Another week, another mayoral controversy.
Once again, Mayor Amer Ghalib found himself on the receiving end of criticism, this time for appearing on Russian RT television, a media source that the U.S. government considers to be a Kremlin propaganda outlet existing to create divisions among Americans.
Canada, Britain and the EU have all banned RT from being broadcast in their countries. RT is funded by the Russian government.
Ghalib posted a three-minute excerpt of his interview with the Russian network on his Facebook page.
Ghalib trod familiar territory: the issue of displaying pride flags on public property.
Ghalib and the city council recently banned the display of those flags on public property, which caused a hailstorm of backlash from the LGBTQ community and their supporters.
In the interview, Ghalib was seen in half-screen in his city hall office,while the other half showed scenes of the city and of LGBTQ events that have happened in other cities.
Ghalib described Hamtramck as a place where “people are very peaceful.”
As for the decision to ban the display of pride flags, Ghalib said:
“The city decided to stay neutral because we have different groups in the city; we have conservatives, we have liberals.”
He went on to say that “we have groups on the opposite side of the spectrum,” although it wasn’t clear what he meant by that.
“We support everyone equally. We cannot side with anyone against another,” he added
On the decision to ban pride flags, Ghalib said “nobody protested against, except the LGBTQ group because they thought it was tied to them.”
The ban was also taken, he said, “so other groups, extremist groups, racist groups would not come and ask us to fly flags because of the LGTBQ flag. So, you have to either fly all or none.”
When the city did permit the display of pride flags on its flagpoles, there was never a request from the groups that Ghalib mentioned asking for their flags to be flown.
On his relationship with the LGBTQ community, Ghalib insisted that “it’s not that we don’t get along with them … I don’t have anything against them. We may disagree on stuff, but that doesn’t mean we hate each other.”
However, Ghalib said, he has come under attack for his support of the flag ban, saying: “If we disagree, they call me homophobic, bigot and, lately, terrorist.”
Ghalib was referring to a flyer that was found in a trash can that had a picture of Ghalib, with the word “terrorist” printed underneath.
A photo of that flyer was posted by former Mayor Karen Majewski, who lost her re-election to Ghalib. Majewski said the flier was found by a resident. Soon after posting the photo on her Facebook page she deleted it, and apologized.
Ghalib also said that he’s “been getting so many threatening messages, either by email or, some of them are even public comments on my Facebook page.”
“I take it seriously, but it won’t force me to back off or change my stance because I believe we’re doing the right thing. We should treat people equally. We should not give preferential treatment to any group.”
The pushback to Ghalib appearing on the Russian propaganda network was immediate.
Former Mayor Majewski, who has clashed with Ghalib on a number of issues, called his appearance on RT “despicable.”
Former city councilmember, and a retiree from the U.S. State Department, Joe Strzalka, who had been stationed in a number of countries, said on a Hamtramck Facebook page:
“It cannot be understated how serious this is. RT is not a news organization, but rather a Russian state-funded media outlet that uses the guise of conventional international media outlets to provide disinformation and propaganda support for the Kremlin’s foreign policy objectives.”
Strzalka went on to say:
“The United States has determined RT must register as a foreign agent due to its ongoing disinformation campaign to undermine our core democratic institutions.
“By willingly submitting to an interview with a foreign agent whose goal is to undermine our democracy, Mayor Ghalib allowed himself to be used in Russia’s disinformation campaign with the objective of undermining our constitution, the very same document all elected officials swore to uphold.
“What started out as a public debate on freedom of expression has now taken a sinister turn and is now being exploited by our foreign adversaries. The question will become, will our other elected officials step up and censure the mayor, or will they support him being used as a propaganda piece to undermine our democracy?”
A former city official, who requested not to be identified, said Ghalib’s appearance on RT is “a win for the Kremlin.”
In an exchange on his Facebook page, Ghalib defended his appearance, saying:
“Hamtramck is now open to the whole world and the former power structure totalitarianism era is gone. You now need to get used to listening to the opposite viewpoint and learn how to respect it even if you don’t like it. I know it’s painful but get used to it.”
Ghalib’s appearance on RT comes on the heels of a meeting he held recently at a hall in town featuring Michael Flynn, Trump’s former National Security Advisor.
Flynn has been talking with various rightwing conservatives across the country since Trump pardoned him after being convicted of lying to the FBI about his involvement with Russians and their interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump pardoned Flynn before he left office.
Flynn, a follower of the conspiracy group QAnon, has described Islam as a “cancer,” and has openly been seeking to mandate a single national religion in the U.S. – that is, to make it a Christian nation.
Ghalib is both a Muslim and an immigrant from Yemen — a country that Trump once instituted a travel ban on.

Posted Oct. 6, 2023