Dearborn’s Lebanese-American mayor warns Biden hasn’t ‘earned my vote’

Abdullah Hammoud’s election as Dearborn’s first Muslim mayor marked a significant milestone for this city, known for its automobile industry and as the U.S. city with the highest concentration of Arab-Americans.

Initially focused on improving sewer infrastructure and investing in parks, Hammoud has now gained national attention for his outspoken criticism of fellow Democrat Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

“We don’t want to see Trump re-elected,” Hammoud told AFP, emphasizing that people need motivation to vote.

Dearborn, a Detroit suburb and the birthplace of Henry Ford, houses the Ford Motor Company’s headquarters. It has a population of about 110,000, with 55% of residents claiming Middle Eastern or North African heritage.

In 2020, Dearborn voters largely supported Biden, whose success in Michigan, a pivotal swing state, could determine the next president.

Hammoud’s prominence increased in January when he declined a meeting with Biden campaign officials aiming to secure the Muslim vote.

Since then, he has rallied a movement leading to over 100,000 voters marking “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic primary as a protest against Biden’s Israel policy. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein even invited him to be her running mate.

– Humble Beginnings –

Hammoud, who will not be eligible to meet the constitutional age requirement of 35 until next March, was too young to accept Stein’s offer, though he found it “very humbling.”

He remains undecided about his vote. “No presidential candidate has earned my vote,” said the father-of-two, urging both parties to heed the growing disapproval of Israel’s actions.

“The polling data across the country shows popular support for the issues we’ve been advocating for,” Hammoud noted.

These issues include a permanent ceasefire to ensure the safety of all hostages and prisoners, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and ending the supply of weapons to Israel.

Hammoud, the son of Lebanese immigrants, grew up in a “working poor” blue-collar family. His father was a truck driver, and his maternal grandfather worked in an auto factory.

Drawn to the Democratic Party for its labor movement support and repelled by Republican demonization of Arab Americans and other minorities, Hammoud initially aspired to be a physician. After falling short academically, he trained as an epidemiologist and became a healthcare executive.

His elder brother’s sudden death made him reconsider his priorities, leading to his election to the state legislature in 2016.

– ‘What will Biden do?’ –

In 2022, Hammoud became one of three new Muslim mayors in southeast Michigan cities, including Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck.

He quickly began addressing historical wrongs. Dearborn, known for its past racism under former mayor Orville Hubbard, saw Hammoud appoint its first Arab-American police chief. This led to a significant decrease in tickets issued to Black drivers within a year.

Before the Gaza conflict, triggered by Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023, Hammoud viewed Biden as a “transformative” president. Now, he believes the severity of the Gaza situation outweighs Biden’s domestic achievements.

Hammoud avoids directly answering whether he could endorse Biden under the right conditions, emphasizing that for many of his constituents, who have lost relatives to Israeli bombings, it’s too late.

He firmly believes Trump, who enforced a Muslim travel ban, would be disastrous. He cites Trump’s support for Saudi Arabia against Yemen, backing Israeli settlements, and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

Hammoud rejects the idea that his community could be blamed for Trump’s potential re-election by not supporting Biden. He shifts the responsibility to Biden, asking, “What will President Joe Biden do to prevent Trump’s re-election and protect American democracy?”