Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters

Short Url
Updated 12 September 2024
Follow

Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters

  • Experts say neither candidate succeeded in convincing the non-monolithic community to lend them their support in November
  • Commentators feel both the Republican and Democrat relied on fear-mongering rather than in-depth policy discussions

CHICAGO: While the US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday night demonstrated sharp contrasts on major issues, experts suggest it may have done little to sway undecided voters, including those in the Arab American community.

“I don’t think this debate is going to tell us a lot about the results of the election,” Amal Mudallali, the former Lebanese ambassador to the UN, told “The Ray Hanania Show” on Wednesday.

“Neither side succeeded in bringing Arab Americans in or convincing them that he’s the one or she’s the one that will be better for them as president and will take their interests into account.”

Also speaking on Wednesday’s show, Joseph Haboush, Washington correspondent at Al Arabiya English, even called the debate “a bit bland overall.”

He said: “I’m not sure that there are any undecided voters that would change their minds based on last night’s performance.”

The debate, which was held less than two months before election day on Nov. 5, marked the first direct confrontation between the Democratic vice president and the former Republican president.

For Harris, the debate represented an opportunity to solidify her leadership after replacing President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket after his poor debate performance in June forced him to step aside.




Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with her Republican rival Donald Trump during the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 10, 2024. (AFP)

Trump, on the other hand, saw the debate as an opportunity to link Harris to the perceived failures of the Biden administration, particularly around democracy, immigration, and the economy.

“I was a bit surprised that they didn’t delve into more policy-related issues in more detail, on what either side would want to do,” said Haboush.

“It was more, I would say, fear-mongering; both sides accusing the other of trying to portray the other as a threat to any future of the US, be it democracy or on other issues that they were both accusing one another of.

“There wasn’t much more that was said or given to the audience that they didn’t already know.”

However, foreign policy issues, such as Ukraine, Gaza, China, and Afghanistan, were mentioned in the debate.




Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block roads as they rally in front of Philadelphia City Hall in Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, 2024, ahead of the Harris-Trump debate. (AFP)

On Ukraine, Trump criticized Biden’s handling of the war and promised to end the conflict, claiming that it would not have occurred had he been president.

Pledging to “settle” the conflict even before taking office, Trump said: “What I’ll do is I’ll speak to one and I’ll speak to the other. I’ll get them together.”

He added: “I know (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky very well, and I know (Russian President Vladimir) Putin very well. They respect me. They don’t respect Biden.”

Harris attacked Trump’s perceived coziness with Putin, stating that the Russian leader would “eat you for lunch,” and accused him of undermining American support for Ukraine — a key concern given Trump’s ambiguous stance on the conflict.




Kamala Harris slams Donald Trump for being in league with the world's dictators. (AFP)

She defended the Biden administration’s support for Kyiv, highlighting US military aid as essential to Ukraine’s continued independence.

“Because of our support, because of the air defense, the ammunition, the artillery, the Javelins, the Abrams tanks that we have provided, Ukraine stands as an independent and free country,” she said.

However, Harris did not propose new strategies for future US involvement.

Trump hit back, accusing Harris of being weak on foreign policy and of hating Israel and Arabs. He offered no specific solutions for the Israel-Hamas conflict, however, instead claiming the war in Gaza would not have happened under his leadership.




Donald Trump said the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza would not have happened if he were the president. (AFP)

He said: “She hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech.” While Harris did skip the speech, she did meet Netanyahu the following day.

“If she’s president, I believe that Israel would not exist within two years from now,” Trump added, going on to say Harris also hates Arabs, claiming that “the whole place (the Middle East) is going to get blown up.”

He added: “Look at what’s happening with the Houthis and Yemen. Look at what’s happening in the Middle East. This would have never happened. I will get that settled, and fast, and I will get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended.

“If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president.”




People gather outside of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California, to watch the Harris-Trump debate. (San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Harris, meanwhile, affirmed her support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and its proxies, while acknowledging the heavy civilian toll on Palestinians in Gaza, where 11 months of fighting have left some 42,000 people dead, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” she said.

She reiterated her support for the two-state solution and emphasized the importance of both Israeli security and Palestinian self-determination. Gaza, however, may not be a deciding issue in the election, even among Arab Americans.




Hours after the Harris-Trump debate in which the Gaza war was discussed, an Israeli air strike hit a school in Nuseirat, Central Gaza, ckilling at least 34 people. (AFP)

“I don’t think Arab American voters are a monolith. It’s not all of them voting on one single issue,” Joyce Karam, a senior news editor at Al-Monitor, told Wednesday’s program.

“I have Arab American friends who have prioritized the war in Gaza and some of them are going for a third party candidate.”

She added: “I think it would not be fair to the community to just say this is a ‘one vote’ or ‘one priority’ kind of drive.”
In relation to China, the candidates sparred over tariffs and trade. Trump promised sweeping tariff increases on Chinese goods, while Harris criticized these measures, citing concerns over inflation and economic instability.

Afghanistan also featured briefly in the debate, with Harris standing by Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops in August 2021, while Trump criticized the manner in which the withdrawal was executed.

Both candidates blamed each other for the chaotic aftermath and the Taliban’s return to power.




Kamala Harris’ calm demeanor was in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent interruptions and emotional outbursts. (AP)

One of the standout features of the debate was the contrast in the candidates’ delivery. Harris’ calm demeanor was in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent interruptions and emotional outbursts, which included raising his voice and launching personal attacks.

Harris’ ability to maintain her composure in the face of Trump’s barrage of insults seemed to play well with viewers. A CNN snap poll conducted after the debate found that 63 percent of respondents believed Harris had won, compared to 37 percent who favored Trump.

Online prediction market PredictIt’s 2024 presidential general election market showed Trump’s likelihood of victory declining during the debate, while Harris’ odds rose to 55 percent from 53 percent.

The debate may prove to be a pivotal moment for both campaigns. In the immediate aftermath, Harris’ campaign capitalized on her performance by calling for a second debate, challenging Trump to meet her again in October.




Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the spin room after the debate. (AP)

Trump, however, appeared reluctant to commit, claiming he had already won the debate and dismissing the idea of a rematch. But his appearance in the debate “spin room” afterwards suggested that even he recognized it had not gone as planned.

Perhaps the most poignant takeaway from the debate was the reminder that, as important as US foreign policy decisions are for the rest of the world, it is domestic issues that swing elections.

“We really don’t know what could happen. There could be many surprises to come,” said Karam. “It’s also very important to remind our audience in the Middle East that while the Gaza war is important, it’s not going to be the deciding factor for many voters.”

“This debate was not a debate that focused on the substance of the issues, it was much more stylistic and about who came off as presidential,” Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute Firas Maksad told Arab News.

Summing up, Firas Maksad, senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told Arab News: “This debate was not a debate that focused on the substance of the issues. It was much more stylistic and about who came off as presidential.”




Left to right, Arab media practitioners Amal Mudallali, Joseph Haboush and Joyce Karam.

 


2 sisters from Egypt were among those killed in Mexican army shooting

Updated 3 sec ago
Follow

2 sisters from Egypt were among those killed in Mexican army shooting

The sisters, and four other migrants from countries including Peru and Honduras, were killed on Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas
Prosecutors’ office confirmed the identification of the two sisters and said their father was wounded in the shooting, but survived

TAPACHULA, Mexico: An 11-year-old Egyptian girl and her 18-year-old sister were among those killed after Mexican army troops opened fire on a truck carrying migrants earlier this week, an official said Friday.
The sisters, and four other migrants from countries including Peru and Honduras, were killed on Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas.
An official in the state’s prosecutors office confirmed the identification of the two sisters and said their father was wounded in the shooting, but survived.
Federal officials, including newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum, again refused Friday to confirm the ages or genders of the six migrants killed in the shooting, which occurred on Sheinbaum’s first day in office.
Soldiers claimed they heard shots and returned fire and officials have studiously avoided saying the migrants were killed by army gunfire. However, that appears to be the case, and two soldiers have been relieved of duty and turned over to civilian prosecutors for questioning.
The killings placed in doubt Sheinbaum’s statements over her first days in office that human rights will be at the forefront of her administration’s policies.
Asked about her immigration policy Friday, Sheinbaum said only that the killings were under investigation and doubled down on earlier claims that the government doesn’t violate human rights.
“First of all, human rights are respected,” Sheinbaum said. “That is very important, that is why it is called a humanistic immigration policy, because human rights are at the forefront.”
Three of the dead were from Egypt, and one each from Peru and Honduras. The other has apparently not yet been identified.
Ten other migrants were wounded in the shooting. but there has not been any information on their conditions.
Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed one Peruvian was killed and demanded “an urgent investigation” into the killings. Peru and Mexico have had damaged relations since a 2022 diplomatic spat.
It was the worst killing of migrants by authorities in Mexico since police in the northern state of Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants in 2021.
Sheinbaum has said the shootings are being investigated to see if any commanders might face punishment, and noted “a situation like this cannot be repeated.”
But she left out any mention of that Thursday at a ceremony at a Mexico City army base, where army and navy commanders pledged their loyalty to her in front of massed combat vehicles and hundreds of troops.
“In our country, there is not a state of siege, there are no violations of human rights,” Sheinbaum said, as she promised wage increases for soldiers and sailors.
The shootings Tuesday occurred near the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.
The Defense Department initially said that soldiers claimed to have heard shots as a convoy of three trucks passed the soldiers’ position.
The Attorney General’s Office later said all three trucks ignored orders to stop and tried to flee. The soldiers pursued them and reported coming under fire from the convoy, and returned fire.
One of the trucks eventually stopped, the driver reportedly fled, and a total of 33 migrants were found aboard, from the three countries already mentioned, as well as Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan.
The Defense Department said four of the migrants were found dead, and 12 wounded. Two of the wounded later died of their injuries. Sheinbaum refused to say whether any weapons were found in the migrants’ truck.
The area is a common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks. It has also been the scene of drug cartel turf battles, and the department said the trucks “were similar to those used by criminal groups in the region.”
Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist, said he doubted the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.
“It is really impossible that these people would have been shooting at the army,” Mujica said. “Most of the time, they get through by paying bribes.”
If the deaths were the result of army fire, as appears likely, it could prove a major embarrassment for Sheinbaum.
The new president has followed the lead of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in giving the armed forces extraordinary powers in law enforcement, state-run companies, airports, trains and construction projects.
It is not the first time Mexican forces have opened fire on vehicles carrying migrants in the area, which is also the object of cartel turf battles.
In 2021, the quasi-military National Guard opened fire on a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing one and wounding four. The Guard officers initially claimed some of those in the migrants’ truck were armed and had fired shots, but the governmental National Human Rights Commission later found that was not true.
And in 2021, state police in Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants and two Mexican citizens. Those officers also initially claimed to have come under fire from the migrants’ vehicles.
They argued they were responding to shots fired and believed they were chasing the vehicles of one of the country’s drug cartels, which frequently participate in migrant smuggling. But that later turned out to be false, and the police in fact burned the victims’ bodies in an attempt to cover up the crime.
Eleven of the policemen were convicted of homicide and sentenced to over 50 years in prison.

Bangladeshi doctors on alert as dengue death rate highest in decades

Updated 04 October 2024
Follow

Bangladeshi doctors on alert as dengue death rate highest in decades

  • Bangladesh is witnessing the highest death rate from dengue since 2003
  • Disease outbreak forecast to continue for the next two months

DHAKA: Bangladeshi doctors are on alert as this year’s mortality rate from dengue fever is the highest in over two decades.

Each year, dengue fever becomes a major health concern during the monsoon season between July and October, with thousands of Bangladeshis contracting the viral and potentially deadly disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes breeding in freshwater pools.

The disease used to be rare in the 1960s, but since the early 2000s, its incidence has increased dramatically.

While the worst outbreak was recorded last year, with over 211,000 people hospitalized across the country, this year the country is witnessing the highest death rate from the disease since 2003.

Out of 34,121 dengue patients admitted to hospitals, 177 have died, according to Directorate General of Health Services data.

“This year, the fatality rate from dengue is higher than in the previous years, although the number of patients is less,” Dr. Mohammed Mushtuq Husain, adviser at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research in Dhaka, told Arab News.

“The fatality is worrying as it is the highest in the world at the moment.”

The death rate has reached 0.52 percent, surpassing last year’s 0.49 percent.

“This dengue trend is feared to continue. When this monsoon rain spell is over, it will continue for the next two months — it’s the life cycle of the dengue virus and Aedes mosquitoes,” Husain said.

Dr. Muzaherul Huq, former World Health Organization regional adviser, warned that prevention and early detection need to be strengthened as the outbreak is not over yet.

“The way dengue case fatality is increasing, it may take a worrying (turn) at any moment. So, we need to strengthen the prevention methods against the dengue virus. Otherwise, we won’t be able to fight this,” he said.

Deaths are mostly occurring as patients come to hospitals at the last stage, often after a long time traveling as most specialist and testing facilities are available only at major clinics.

Many also come infected with dengue for the second or third time. A person can be infected several times with different variants of the virus.

“There are four strains of dengue virus. If someone gets infected with dengue in previous years, second or third-time infection causes more risks for him or her,” said Brig. Gen. Mohammed Rezaur Rahman, director of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka.

“Dengue is a viral disease, and it mutates regularly. This is why it’s tough to eradicate.”

There is no treatment for the disease yet, and the focus is on treating its symptoms. In its severe form, it causes internal bleeding and deadly organ impairment.


Indian FM meets Sri Lanka’s new leadership, assures support in economic rebuilding

Updated 04 October 2024
Follow

Indian FM meets Sri Lanka’s new leadership, assures support in economic rebuilding

  • S. Jaishankar is the first top foreign official to meet Sri Lanka’s new president
  • India was a key partner in extending support to Sri Lanka during its 2022 economic crisis

New Delhi: India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Colombo on Friday to meet Sri Lanka’s new president and government and assure New Delhi’s continued support.

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office on Sept. 23, after winning the country’s first presidential vote since its financial collapse in 2022.

A day later, he appointed his three-member government and dissolved the parliament, clearing the way for new parliamentary elections scheduled for Nov. 14.

The Indian foreign minister is the first top foreign official to pay an official visit to Sri Lanka since its regime change.

He took to X after meeting Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

“Discussed ways to deepen ongoing cooperation and strengthen India-Sri Lanka ties for the benefit of people of two countries and the region,” Jaishankar said, as he also expressed “India’s continued support to Sri Lanka’s economic rebuilding.”

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the visit aimed to “further deepen the longstanding partnership” between the countries under India’s Neighborhood First Policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s geopolitical framework of cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

Dissanayake, the country’s first Marxist-leaning leader, took over the job on the promise of change, as the island nation of 22 million is still reeling from the crisis and austerity measures imposed by his predecessor as a part of a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner, India in 2022 emerged also as the main source of support to its battered economy.

“India has been consistently engaged with the Sri Lankan leadership since the economic crisis, and Jaishankar’s visit is a signal that despite the change in government, India is likely to continue to work closely with the new dispensation,” Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, told Arab News.

“India intends to have as close ties with this government as it had with the previous. I think this is a signal of India’s interest … India is keen to continue the momentum in the relationship that had set in after India became the most active player in helping Sri Lanka get out of the economic crisis.”

The lineup of Sri Lanka’s new government will be finalized after November’s election. Currently, the president, the prime minister and the foreign minister have divided all the portfolios among themselves. A proper cabinet will be appointed after the parliamentary vote, with the composition depending on its results.

“India has registered that it is willing to work with the new government. That is the main message from the visit … Other details about projects, investment and other things will take time,” N. Sathiya Moorthy, a political analyst in Chennai, told Arab News.

“Every Sri Lankan remembers how India rushed to help during their economic crisis. So, the new government will not overlook that sentiment also.”


France, Italy launch project to exchange migrant trafficking information

Updated 04 October 2024
Follow

France, Italy launch project to exchange migrant trafficking information

  • The project will be modeled after a similar deal between France and Britain
  • France’s new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said it was his priority to further toughen immigration laws

PARIS: The interior ministers of France and Italy signed a declaration on their intention to exchange information related to migrant trafficking, the French interior ministry said on Friday.
The project will be modeled after a similar deal between France and Britain, launched in 2020 in the north of France in a bid to stop attempts to reach the United Kingdom.
France’s new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a law-and-order politician from the conservative Republican party (LR), said it was his priority to further toughen immigration laws, echoing remarks from the prime minister who said the country needed to control its border better.
Immigration is also a tense domestic issue in Italy, where far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to drastically curb entries, though has not yet proved successful.
“Its objective is clear: to trigger judicial investigations, often combined, aimed at dismantling the networks underpinning the illegal flow through Italy to the rest of the European Union, in which France remains a sought-after destination,” the French interior ministry said in a statement.
In November 2022, tensions flared between France and Italy after Italy refused to let a charity ship with migrants dock, forcing it to go instead to a port in southern France.
The countries share a 500 km (300 mile) land border, mainly cutting through the Alps. Both countries are in the EU’s Schengen area with no border controls between them, though individual countries are responsible for asylum seekers who arrive in them.


German security chief warns over October 7 ‘trigger point’

Updated 04 October 2024
Follow

German security chief warns over October 7 ‘trigger point’

  • Middle East turmoil tends to spark reactions in Germany, warned Thomas Haldenwang, chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
  • Anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel are a “connecting element” between Islamists, pro-Palestinian extremists and other radical groups on the far right and far left

BERLIN: Germany’s domestic intelligence chief warned Friday that the anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel could be a “trigger event” for unrest.
Next Monday marks one year since the attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group that sparked Israel’s invasion of Gaza and conflict with Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere.
Middle East turmoil tends to spark reactions in Germany, warned Thomas Haldenwang, chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel are a “connecting element” between Islamists, pro-Palestinian extremists and other radical groups on the far right and far left, he said.
“The anniversary could be a trigger event for large parts of the protest spectrum,” he said, warning of a “great potential for emotionalization, polarization and radicalization.”
Aside from official commemorations of the October 7 attack, a number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Germany at the weekend and on Monday.
In Berlin, police union spokesman Benjamin Jedro said that “we are looking at the coming days with great concern” after witnessing “hatred, anti-Semitism and violent excesses” by some pro-Palestinian activists.
Haldenwang in his statement pointed out that the number of anti-Semitic crimes had risen to an all-time high since the Gaza war started.
“The potential danger of possible terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions, as well as against ‘the West’ as a whole, has increased significantly in the past six months.”
Haldenwang reiterated his warning against jihadist attacks, pointing to a deadly stabbing spree in the western city of Solingen last month.
“Islamists have understood how to use the current Middle East crisis to revitalize their propaganda and mobilize their followers,” he said.
The Daesh group is “using its propaganda to use the situation in Gaza to create emotions and encourage young Muslims in the West in particular to carry out terrorist attacks.”
The October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,788 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations has described the figures as reliable.