© 2025 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Trump's call for U.S. to 'take over' Gaza spurs anger and frustration in Dearborn

By Don Gonyea,
Lexie Schapitl
Published February 6, 2025 at 9:38 AM EST
People leave a polling place where voters are casting their ballots during Michigan's early voting period on October 29, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano
/
Getty Images
People leave a polling place where voters are casting their ballots during Michigan's early voting period on October 29, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan.

President Trump's unexpected pronouncement Tuesday that the U.S. will "take over" and redevelop war-ravaged Gaza — while calling for Palestinians to be relocated to neighboring countries — landed with a thud in Dearborn, Mich., where he aggressively courted the votes of the city's Arab American population during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Democrats have long counted on the support of voters here, but last year Trump carried Dearborn thanks to widespread anger with the Biden administration over its handling of the war in Gaza. Protests labeled then-President Joe Biden as "Genocide Joe" for his continued support of Israel throughout the war, and Trump won some key endorsement from imams in the Detroit area, as well as from some elected officials, including the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., Amer Ghalib, a Democrat.

Trump won 42% of the vote in Dearborn to Vice President Kamala Harris' 36%, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein — who ran on ending the violence in Gaza — won 18%.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who did not endorse either candidate ahead of the election, wrote on social media Tuesday: "President Trump's proposal to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza and have the U.S. 'take over' is yet another chapter in the ongoing genocide."

"Deploying U.S. troops and using taxpayer dollars to invade Gaza is morally indefensible. Our commitment to justice remains unshaken, no matter who sits in the White House," he continued.

Abbas Alawieh is a Democratic strategist who organized the "uncommitted" campaign — which pushed Biden and Harris to call for a ceasefire and to halt weapons transfers to Israel. When Biden dropped out of the race, many uncommitted voters were hopeful that Harris would change course as the new Democratic nominee. Ultimately, the group urged voters to vote against Trump, but declined to officially endorse Harris.

Alawieh, who did end up voting for Harris, described Trump on Wednesday as being "reckless," "delusional" and "disgusting." He said that Trump came to Dearborn during the campaign and "lied to a whole bunch of folks saying that he would be a pro-peace president."

"Abandon Harris" — another, more hard-line protest group previously known as "Abandon Biden" — released a statement Wednesday condemning Trump for "grotesque statements" regarding Gaza. But the organization also kept up its attacks on Biden and Harris, saying in the release, "We refuse to equate Trump's inflammatory rhetoric with the Biden-Harris administration's concrete actions — actions that spanned 15 months of material, verbal, monetary, and political support for Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza."

Sam Ali, a Dearborn business consultant, sat out the presidential race over the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the war in Gaza. But he places some blame for the current situation on Muslim and Arab Americans who did vote for Trump.

"It's like, what did you think? What did you think he was going to do?" Ali told NPR. "What did you think he was going to say? And now people have to live with the consequences of their decision to vote for him."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Tags
National News
Don Gonyea
You're most likely to find NPR's Don Gonyea on the road, in some battleground state looking for voters to sit with him at the local lunch spot, the VFW or union hall, at a campaign rally, or at their kitchen tables to tell him what's on their minds. Through countless such conversations over the course of the year, he gets a ground-level view of American elections. Gonyea is NPR's National Political Correspondent, a position he has held since 2010. His reports can be heard on all NPR News programs and at NPR.org. To hear his sound-rich stories is akin to riding in the passenger seat of his rental car, traveling through Iowa or South Carolina or Michigan or wherever, right along with him.
See stories by Don Gonyea
Lexie Schapitl
Lexie Schapitl is a production assistant with NPR's Washington Desk, where she produces radio pieces and digital content. She also reports from the field and assists with production of the NPR Politics Podcast.
See stories by Lexie Schapitl
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Environment
    ‘Tis the Season for Holly
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    If asked “What plant best symbolizes the winter season?”, most people might say “Christmas trees”, but a fair number might instead suggest holly. Several species of holly are native to North America. Most are evergreen, have thick, somewhat shiny leaves that are resistant to colder climates, and are bordered and tipped with sharp points that protect the leaves from winter plant “munchers”, and in winter bear small red fruits that add to their winter holiday appeal. The fruits are eaten by many bird species and the seeds inside the fruits are deposited with a bit of fertilizer to begin growth in the spring. Some holly species grow into large trees.
  • White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
    Government & Politics
    Trump administration says sign language services 'intrude' on Trump's ability to control image
    The Associated Press
    The Trump administration argues that providing real-time American Sign Language interpretation for events like White House press briefings would intrude on the president's control over his public image. This stance is part of a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Deaf, which claims the lack of ASL interpretation denies deaf Americans access to important communications. The Justice Department suggests alternatives like online transcripts and closed captioning provide what's needed. A federal judge recently ordered the White House to provide the interpreting, but the administration has appealed.
  • FEMA will allowing travel trailers like this one to move onto the barrier islands of Sanibel, Estero and Pine Island, a FEMA official said Tuesday.
    Crime
    Undocumented Cuban found guilty in theft of trailers meant for those displaced by Hurricane Ian
    WGCU Staff
    Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution secured the conviction of Ivan Gutierrez Miranda for stealing and reselling trailers meant for recovering hurricane victims who lost and were rebuilding their homes. Miranda was found guilty of a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) violation, Conspiracy to Commit RICO, Organized Scheme to Defraud, and five counts of Dealing in Stolen Property.