Arab Americans are slightly more likely to vote for Donald Trump than Kamala Harris, a new poll finds, a worrying sign of the Democratic candidate's chances of winning the battleground state of Michigan, home to a large Arab population. US.
The poll, conducted by the Arab News Studies and Research Unit in partnership with YouGov, showed that 43% support Trump, compared to 41% for Harris, and 4% support Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
The numbers are broadly consistent with an earlier survey conducted this month by the Arab American Institute. All suggest that Harris's support in the community has been undermined by the Biden administration's support for Israel's year-long war against Hamas in Gaza.
A recent poll showed Trump leading Harris 39% to 33% on the question of who would be the best candidate to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Generally”.
Support for Trump is particularly notable because respondents to the same survey (46% to 23%) think anti-Arab racism and hate crimes will increase under Trump's presidency compared to Harris' administration.
The former president has repeatedly used the term “Palestinian” as an insult against his Democratic opponents and mocked them for not supporting Israel enough.
The findings that Trump's presidency has been characterized by a strong pro-Israel political tilt are striking. He was responsible for the historic decision to move the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a position hotly debated by both Israelis and Palestinians.
The view that she is strongly pro-Israel is reflected in the poll, which found that 69% of respondents believe she is very supportive of the country's interests, compared to 60% for Harris.
The vice president, whose husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish, has taken a more subtle line in her attempt to win back the support of Arab voters she lost to Biden.
He has repeatedly affirmed Israel's right to defend itself, while expressing concern about rising casualties and the worsening situation in Gaza. He hailed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Shinwar last week as an opportunity to end the war.
Trump has said that the brutal Hamas attack last October would not have happened on his watch. Her outspoken appeal was to Arab voters on Monday as Harris campaigned in Michigan, alongside Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman whose father, Dick Cheney, played a key role in the invasion of Iraq as George W. Bush's vice president.
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If Harris is elected, Trump wrote on his Truth Community site: “The Middle East will spend the next four decades in flames and its children will go to war, possibly World War III.”
The Arab American Institute's previous poll showed 41% support for Harris, compared to 42% for Trump and 12% for third-party candidates.
Although Harris regained some of the support provided by Biden, she fell far short of the 59% of Arab votes that the US president obtained when defeating Trump in the 2020 elections.
Polls show Harris and Trump are virtually deadlocked in Michigan, where Trump won in 2016 but lost to Biden four years later.
