Hamtramck’s twists and turns in this year’s presidential election

About 100 Trump supporters gathered at the newly-opened Trump campaign office on Jos. Campau to hear the former president speak at a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday.

By Charles Sercombe
This year’s election year in Hamtramck is shaping up to be one for the history books.
The big story, which has captured the attention of both national and international media, is Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib’s presidential endorsement.
Ghalib, a Democrat and a Muslim immigrant from Yemen, came out endorsing Donald Trump, a Republican, for president.
Trump is running against Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, who is also seeking the job.
Ghalib has apparently convinced a number of other Muslim community members, most of whom are also immigrants from Yemen, to switch parties, at least for this election.
The Muslim community’s main issue with the Biden-Harris administration is their perceived level of support for, and supplying of military aid to, Israel in its retaliatory war on Hamas in Gaza, which has now reportedly killed at least 42,000 Palestinians.
But their support for Trump seems odd, and has been noted by various media reports, because he is known as an ardent supporter of Israel and he has not backed off from that support.
Most of Hamtramck’s population is now those of the Muslim faith.
But while Ghalib has attracted Councilmembers Khalil Refai and Muhtasin Sadman to join the Trump bandwagon that appears to be it among elected city officials.
Recently, the Washington Examiner reported that Councilmembers Mohammed Hassan, Mahmood Muhith and Mohammed Alsomiri are reportedly throwing their support to Harris.
They recently attended a Harris endorsement rally in Warren along with a number of Bengali community members from Hamtramck and Warren, the Examiner reported.
(Alsomiri is an immigrant from Yemen, and recently also attended a Trump rally with Ghalib in Flint, but had withheld his support for Trump.)
Hassan told the Examiner that Trump cannot be trusted in handling the Israeli war in Gaza, and downplayed Ghalib’s endorsement of Trump, saying: “He’s only the mayor. It’s only his decision.”
The Examiner also said that former Councilmembers Anam Miah and Nayeem Choudhury are supporting Harris, as is state Rep. Abraham Aiyash.
Despite being a Democrat, Aiyash has been silent on who he supports, and had earlier urged voters to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic Presidential Primary.
The Review reached to Aiyash for confirmation and comment about who he supports for president, and he said:
“Any announcement about my endorsement would come directly from me.”
Pressed further to say who he supports for president, Aiyash sidestepped the question and said:
“I am focused on maintaining and expanding the Democratic majority in the Michigan House of Representatives and turning out a record number of voters across the state.”
Although Aiyash, a son of immigrants from Yemen, is not saying who he supports, he has been vocal about who he does not, and his position is not aligned with Mayor Ghalib.
On his Facebook page, Aiyash has said that Trump “is not a man of principle, is uniquely unfit to serve as President, and remains a threat to many communities across our country.
“Donald Trump has always shown us who he is — a self-serving, inconsiderate, small man who espouses hateful rhetoric, dangerous policies, and reckless leadership.
“This November, dump Trump.”
Aiyash’s comment about Trump not being a man of “principle” is in direct contradiction to Ghalib insisting that Trump is such a man.
The Review reached out to Councilmembers Alsomiri and Muhith, as well as former Councilmember Miah, to confirm whether they support Harris.
Alsomiri said that he does indeed support Harris, stating: ‘I’m a Democrat. My district is Democrat. I am for Harris.”
Neither Muhith nor Miah responded. The Review also reached out to Councilmember Abu Musa on who he supports but he did not return a phone call.
Choudhury was at the meeting for Harris, and held up a Harris campaign sign.
While the mayor and councilmembers have been respectful so far about their political differences, this split could signal a growing rift among the council and mayor.
And, if so, that would just be another part of a long tradition in Hamtramck, where political rivalries grow and fester.
And, that’s not all of the political twists and turns that happened recently.
On Saturday, about 100 people attended a gathering at the newly opened Trump campaign office at Jos. Campau and Pulaski to watch a televised broadcast of Trump’s campaign stop in Pennsylvania.
Mayor Ghalib attended the gathering, as did Hamtramck School Boardmembers Moortadha Obaid and Abdulmalik Algahaim.
Most of those in attendance were Yemeni.
One has to wonder if things got a bit awkward, to say the least, when Trump said, at the Pennsylvania rally, about those who emigrate from Yemen:
“A lot of people are coming from Yemen, and they’re known terrorists.”
The Review reached out via Facebook messenger to Ghalib for comment on Trump’s statement and he replied:
“I said in my endorsement that ‘we do not agree on everything.’ This is part of the disagreement between us. However, I was told that he is going to clarify that. Details on how and when still unknown.”
Asked if he found Trump’s comment insulting, Ghalib did not respond.
Councilmember Khalil Refai, who said he is a “lifelong Republican,” posted this message on the Facebook page called “Hamtramck Square:”
“As soon as our mayor became aware of the remark, he immediately reached out to the Trump campaign leaders to address the issue. We will not tolerate any attacks on social media or elsewhere against our mayor or our city in any form.”
On Thursday as The Review went to press, there was no word if Trump would be stopping by in Hamtramck on Thursday as reported last week.
And before The Review went to press, Councilmember Hassan announced on his Facebook page that Democratic Vice President nominee Tim Walz is coming to Hamtramck on Nov. 2.
Also attending with Walz will be Gov. Whitmer, Hassan said. No location of the event was provided.
Also, Hassan said that both Harris and Walz will attend a rally in Warren on Oct. 13 at Al Shahi Palace, located at 4235 12 Mile Rd. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. and a number of Democratic candidates will also be there, including U. S. Rep. Elisa Slotkin, Carl Marlinga and Haley Stevens.
How will this political jockeying shake out here in Hamtramck? Stay tuned because this is bound to be a roller coaster ride.
Posted Oct. 11, 2024