Mayor Amer Ghalib’s endorsement of Trump pays off

President Trump has nominated Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib to be ambassador to Kuwait. If the U.S. Senate confirms the appointment, the question becomes will Ghalib be able to continue his mayoral duties.

By Charles Sercombe
Mayor Amer Ghalib got the reward he worked for.
President Donald Trump nominated Ghalib to be ambassador to Kuwait, one of the most affluent countries in the Mideast.
It’s not clear when Ghalib starts his new job, and even less clear whether he’ll be able to continue his mayoral duties from more than 6,500 miles away and a 16-hour flight to or from Detroit.
Ghalib has to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in order to take the position.
In announcing Ghalib’s appointment on social media, Trump said:
“As mayor of the City of Hamtramck, Michigan, Amer worked hard to help us secure a Historic Victory in Michigan.”
Ghalib didn’t manage, however, to deliver the vote for Trump in Hamtramck, where former Vice President Kamala Harris won, 46.2 percent to Trump’s 42.7 percent.
Hamtramck has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, but Trump did win a significant number of votes here because of the mayor’s endorsement.
Although Ghalib didn’t persuade enough Hamtramck voters to get behind Trump, he helped galvanize the Muslim and Arab vote in the metro region who had turned against the Harris and Biden administration for their continued support of Israel in that country’s war in Gaza.
The Arab and Muslim vote was credited for Trump’s victory in Michigan, which had previously voted for former President Biden.
Ghalib, 45, now says his alignment with Trump has more to do with “family values,” and has said that, while he disagrees with Trump’s support of Israel, he has more in common with the Republican Party and its anti-LGBTQ positions.
Regarding Israel, Trump has said that the Palestinians who have been displaced in Gaza will not be able to return, and boasted that that land, which abuts the Mediterranean Sea, could be developed into a resort.
Ghalib’s support of Trump seemed curious, considering that Trump named those emigrating from Yemen, the country Ghalib was born in, as “terrorists.”
Trump is also considering re-instating his travel ban for Muslim countries – including Yemen.
Ghalib, 45, has been saying that he had three options in the Trump administration and had hoped to hold “duel” roles, one in the administration and the other here, remaining able to perform mayoral duties.
If the mayor is confirmed by the Senate for the ambassadorship and he can’t continue to act as mayor, that position would then be filled by Mayor Pro Tem Khalil Refai.
A strong hint that Ghalib won’t be able to remain as mayor is that a close campaign advisor of his, Adam Alharbi, announced that he is going to seek election as Hamtramck’s mayor.
Ghalib had previously said he planned to seek re-election this year.
As for being appointed ambassador, Ghalib said, on his Facebook page:
“I am honored and grateful to President Trump for the trust placed in me to serve our great country as the next ambassador to the state of Kuwait; a country that is dear and near to my heart.”
Ghalib added: “Out of multiple options that I was offered, including an advisory role, state department appointment, and an ambassador to a country of my choice, I finally ended up choosing the last option, after two months of considering the advisory role, and that’s why I announced earlier that I would run for the mayor again, because it was possible and doable with the advisory role.”
Ghalib also hinted to The Review that it is likely he won’t be able to remain as mayor if appointed to the ambassadorship:
“The ambassador has to reside in the host country. Up until ten days ago, my first choice was a senior advisor to the president for Arab and Muslim Americans, in which I could serve as the mayor at the same time, but after I was given enough details about his role and the deputy Secretary of State, I ended up changing my mind and choosing an ambassador to the country of my choice out of multiple options.”
And what would happen if the Senate doesn’t confirm him?
“If I don’t get confirmed, then I still have the option of going back to the advisory role and running for the mayor, since we still have enough time to put my name on the ballot,” Ghalib told The Review.
On social media, reaction to his possible appointment was varied, with many congratulating him, but others accusing him of being a “sellout” and “bootlicker.”
Ghalib is in his first term as mayor. In 2021, he pulled off an upset victory over former Mayor Karen Majewski, who had been in office for 18 years. Hamtramck had an unbroken string of Polish-American mayors since the city was incorporated in 1922.
Hamtramck’s demographics have greatly changed in recent years, and Polish-Americans are now in the minority while those from Bangladesh and Yemen have become the majority ethnicities.

The relationship between Ghalib and Majewski has been rocky, with the two clashing on LGBTQ rights and the display of the pride flag on city flagpoles.
Ghalib was instrumental in banning the pride flags from being displayed on public property in Hamtramck, which drew criticism from the Michigan Democratic Party, including state Attorney General Dana Nessel, who said Ghalib and the all-male, all-Muslim city council are a “national embarrassment” for taking that action.
Ghalib is a licensed nurse, and says he has a medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine, located in Barbados.
Posted March 14, 2025