EXCLUSIVE — Three councilmen for the Muslim-majority city of Hamtramck are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in defiance of its mayor, who grabbed national headlines for his support of former President Donald Trump.
Mohammed Hassan, a longtime member of the Hamtramck City Council, held an event Sunday night in which he and two other councilmen, Mohammed Alsomiri and Muhith Mahmood, offered their support to Harris. The city, home to a large Yemeni and Bangladeshi population in Detroit, is represented by six councilmen.
The event, which brought an estimated 250 people to Radhuni Restaurant, was organized in direct response to Mayor Amer Ghalib’s surprise announcement last month that he would back Trump in the presidential race. Since then, Hassan has been gathering support for Harris in coordination with Detroit Councilman Scott Benson.
The endorsements come at a critical time for Harris, who faces deep upset from Muslim and Arab voters over the war in Gaza. Green Party candidate Jill Stein has managed to attract support from parts of Dearborn, another Michigan community with a large Muslim population. On Monday, the “Abandon Harris” movement endorsed her campaign.
Still, Hassan expects almost all of the Bangladeshi community will vote for Harris in November. He, along with Yemeni American leaders, plans to mobilize voters with a series of events, including one in Warren this coming Sunday.
As for the mayor, the councilmen have spoken with him about his endorsement of Trump but were unable to change his mind. Hassan stressed that Ghalib does not speak on behalf of the community.
“He’s only the mayor,” Hassan told the Washington Examiner. “It’s only his decision.”
The Trump campaign has made repeated contact with the councilmen promising that he will end the war in Gaza and build a stronger economy. But each expressed skepticism that Trump can be trusted. They cited his past statements on deporting immigrants and vow to reimpose a Muslim ban.
“This guy is not normal. He always says something and then do something different, and you never know what he’s going to do,” Mahmood told the Washington Examiner.
For Alsomiri, the choice was simple: He supports Democrats, and Harris will be no exception.
In total, Hassan announced the endorsement of a dozen community leaders for Harris, among them Rep. Abraham Aiyash, who represents Hamtramck in the Michigan House. The remaining leaders include Anam Miah, the former mayor pro tempore of Hamtramck; Nayeem Choudhury, a former councilman; and several officials and candidates for office in Warren, Michigan.
Hassan told the Washington Examiner he initially reached out to the Trump campaign after voting “uncommitted” in the primary but was not satisfied by its answers. He has since been in contact with Ed Duggan, Harris’s campaign point person in Michigan.
Mahmood, like the other councilmen, hears a wide array of concerns from Hamtramck residents. The war in Gaza is one, but so are the economy and social issues. Many oppose gender identity being taught in schools, he said.
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Still, Mahmood called Trump’s policies “insulting” and said he will try to convince “as many as we can” in the Hamtramck community.
“I hear people’s opinion, but we strongly decided that regardless of whatever happens, we need to vote, and we need to vote Kamala to save the country from evil,” Mahmood said.
