DEARBORN (WWJ) President-elect Donald Trump swept Dearborn amid anger about the war in the Middle East.
Dearborn has the highest Muslim and Arab-American population of any city in the United States—with 55% of the residents of Middle Eastern descent. In a stark contrast to the 2020 election—where President Biden swept Dearborn; Trump won over Vice President Kamala Harris at 42.48% of the vote to her 32.26%. Green Party candidate Jill Stein took home 18.37% of the vote in Dearborn.
In the 2020 Presidential Election; Biden had a landslide in Dearborn with 68.8% of the vote compared to Trump’s 29.9%.
WWJ’s Charlie Langton talked to Dearborn residents Thursday morning.
“I live in Dearborn. I was born in Dearborn,” said Adrienne, who is a transgender woman. “At least in my community, it’s a little down. Personally, I am not happy with the Election results but that’s part of the process. As someone who is part of a marginalized community, I’m a little scared.”
Langton also spoke to another resident, wearing a Trump 2024 hat, who did not give his name.
"Trump has finally won. Ready for the economy to go up, invest in the cryptocurrencies. Stocks and real estate. Interest rates are going to start coming down," he said.
"Do you think most people in Dearborn feel the way you do?" Langton asked him in a video on X.
"Oh yeah, I think so. I think because of what's going on in the Middle East, we want Trump back now," the man said, adding he was celebrating at the King's Bakery on Greenfield at Michigan Avenue.
Man-on-the-street interviews conducted by the Detroit Free Press suggested voters chose Trump because of their dissatisfaction over the Biden administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas War—and because they approved of Trump’s economic policies.
Harris never visited the Dearborn area during her campaign. Trump stopped by a halal coffee shop/café, The Great Commoner in Dearborn, on Friday.
None of the mayors of Metro Detroit’s three most predominantly Muslim communities—Hamtramck, Dearborn Heights or Dearborn—endorsed Harris for president. Dearborn’s mayor, Abdullah Hamoud, endorsed neither candidate; while the Hamtramck mayor, Amer Ghalib, supported Trump. Dearborn Heights mayor, Bill Bazzi, publicly endorsed him-- appearing on stage with him at a Novi rally. Ghalib and Bazzi spoke on stage at Trump's final campaign event in Grand Rapids Monday night.