CHICAGO: Despite some “differences” and “misunderstandings” in the past, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are much more closely aligned than the Democrats with the Arab and Muslim community in the US, in terms of understanding its values and needs, a leading pro-Trump Arab American advocate claimed.
During a recording of “The Ray Hanania Radio Show,” Bishara Bahbah, chairperson of Arab Americans for Trump, said the community must overcome its anger and emotion about Trump’s previous rhetoric to “take their place at the table” and recognize that the Biden-Harris administration, and Democrats in general, have “funded and fueled” the killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Bahbah said his organization — leading members of which include Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s youngest daughter, Tiffany; Richard Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration; and Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney — believes Arabs and Muslims should not only support the Republican Party but “engage” with Trump to help bring an end the carnage in Gaza and achieve peace in the Middle East that includes a two-state solution.
“They (the Democrats) have been the ones who have incessantly provided arms to Israel,” he said during the taping of the show, which will broadcast on Thursday, Aug. 22, and Monday, Aug. 26, in Michigan on radio station WNZK 690 AM. “Those arms, whether they are a bullet or a 2,000-pound bomb have killed Palestinians in Gaza, over 40,000.
“That is a crime against humanity and the United States, and primarily the Biden-Harris administration, have been complicit in that. Without those arms being provided to Israel, the war would have ended a long time ago.”
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have “broken their promises” to the Arab and Muslim community but, despite “misunderstandings,” Trump has always been “upfront and honest,” Bahbah argued. The former president “supports an end to the conflict in Gaza, an end to all violence and the achieving of a two-state solution through peaceful means,” he added.
Trump, Bahbah claimed, was moved by a letter he received from Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on July 14, the day after an attempt by a gunman to kill Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, in which the Palestinian leader expressed outrage at the attempted assassination, writing: “Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order.”
Bahbah said that the fact the Palestinian president sent Trump a letter wishing him well was important because it showed that the Palestinian leadership would be willing to reengage with a Trump administration.
“It shows that going forward they will not leave a void,” he said. “They will not allow a clown like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to be toying around with what he thought was his playing field in the Trump administration.
“I think that is a very important point, not just for the Palestinian government but also for Arab Americans. We cannot pout at what politicians say. We have to accept the realities on the ground.
“The message has been all along, be engaged. If you are engaged and your voices are heard and your support is shown, then you will get a seat at the table and your voice will be heard. That is the message we have been conveying to the Arab and Muslim American community.”
Bahbah acknowledged that Trump’s approach to some issues had proved to be controversial but said they had been “misunderstood outside of the context of the political circumstances in which they have been made.”
He argued that criticism of Trump’s rhetoric is different from that of the genocide that has taken place in Gaza under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch.
“On one hand you’ve got Arab and Muslim Americans enraged at the Biden-Harris administration over the complicity and killing of 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and the injuring of over 105,000 thus far. On one hand, they are enraged,” he said.
“On the other hand, we are trying to tell them President Trump wants to see an end to the hostilities. President Trump wants to see an end to the killing of civilians. And he wants to see a peace process that leads to a two-state solution.”
You can hear the full interview with Bishara Bahbah on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on WNZK AM 690 radio in Michigan, or online at ArabNews.com/RayRadioShow.
