LANSING, Michigan – Donald Trump’s allies are working to win over Arab-American voters s who are unhappy with President Joe Biden’s support for Israel.
The effort is led by Massad Boulos, whose son married Tiffany Trump, the former president’s youngest daughter, two years ago. Boulos, a Lebanese-born businessman, is now using his connections in the Arab-American community and meeting with its leaders in Michigan, home to many Arab-American Democrats who are disenchanted with Biden.
But any apparent political opportunity for Trump may be limited. Many Arab-Americans remain offended by Trump’s ban while in office, in immigration from several Muslim-majority countries and other remarks they consider insulting. Trump also criticized Biden for not being a strong enough defender of Israel.
In interviews with the Associated Press, Boulos described his outreach efforts and discussed his plans. Those who met with him shared their thoughts on whether the strategy is working.
Boulos, who is often abroad managing a Nigeria-based conglomerate, first became directly involved in U.S. politics in 2019 when he met Trump. At the time, his son Michael was dating Tiffany Trump.
Before the 2020 elections, Boulos helped with Arab-American outreach in a minor role. His involvement has expanded significantly this year as Trump allies aim to exploit divisions within Biden’s Democratic base. Boulos is working closely with an Arab-American group for Trump that has established operations in Arizona and Michigan.
In May, Massad and Michael Boulos traveled to metro Detroit with Richard Grenell, a top foreign policy adviser to Trump and his former ambassador to Germany, to meet with a group of about 40 Arab-American activists from around the country.
Just over a week later, Boulos returned for a more extensive round of commitments. He conducted one-on-one meetings with several prominent community leaders and organized larger gatherings, each attracting about 50 members of the Arab-American community.
Those who have engaged with Boulos so far are skeptical about the impact of these efforts. They note the lack of substantial evidence supporting the claim that Trump is the best candidate for Arab Americans.
“Massad can’t convince people to side with Trump because he hasn’t offered anything substantial to the community,” said Osama Siblani, editor of Arab American News in Dearborn.
Both major parties focused on the Arab-American vote due to significant population of the community in Michigan, which is expected to play a decisive role in the presidential elections.
Trump won Michigan by just over 10,000 votes in 2016. Biden took the state back to the Democrats in 2020 by a margin of about 154,000 votes.
Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, with more than 310,000 residents of Middle Eastern or North African descent, according to the most recent census.
More than 100,000 Democratic primary voters in Michigan voted in February to “uncommit” the presidential race, enough to win two delegates. In two Muslim majority In Michigan cities, including Dearborn, home to about 110,000 residents, the “uncommitted” vote defeated Biden in the Democratic primary.
Boulos is the latest relative to rise in Trump’s political circle. The former president has a long history of putting members of the family It is Your family in key roles in his campaigns and in the White House.
Recently, Trump handpicked her daughter-in-lawLara Trump, as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
During his first term, he appointed his daughter Ivanka as a senior White House adviser and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to oversee important issues such as Middle East peace, criminal justice reform and the government’s response to the coronavirus.
Boulos calls Trump a “family friend.” But Boulos insists that his outreach efforts so far have been “more of a personal effort to reconnect with friends.” He adds that the key messages emerging from meetings with Arab-Americans are communicated to Trump and influenced a recent statement on the Middle East published on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.
But for some participants in the meetings, the direct connection to Trump matters little when Boulos cannot make promises about future policies.
“The family members are fine. But at the end of the day, we have to sit down with someone who will be a legislator,” Siblani said. “And knowing Trump, only Trump can sit down and talk about his politics.”
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Associated Press reporters Jill Colvin in Washington, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Lebanon, and Chinedu Asadu in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report.
