GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan: Kamala Harris insisted it was time to “end the suffering” in the Middle East while Donald Trump visited one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities on Friday as the dueling presidential contenders fought for a small but pivotal bloc of Arab American voters in swing-state Michigan.
In a rare reference to Israel’s fight against Hamas and Hezbollah, Harris said, “This year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon.” She said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “can and must be a turning point.”
“Everyone must seize this opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end the suffering once and for all,” she said.
Trump, meanwhile, avoided any specifics about his plans for the Middle East, but he said he didn’t think the Arab American community would vote for Harris “because she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Later, he fought through technical glitches that silenced his microphone for almost 20 minutes at a rally in Detroit.
Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election on Nov. 5. Diverse voting blocs are key to winning virtually any swing state, but Michigan is unique with its significant Arab American population, which has been deeply frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Trump, who instituted a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and has vowed to expand the ban to include refugees from Gaza if elected again, is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, despite his well-documented history of hostile rhetoric and policies.
There were modest signs Friday that he may be making progress.
The Republican nominee visited a new campaign office in Hamtramck, one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities, and was joined there by Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Democrat who has endorsed Trump. Meanwhile, three city council members in the same town have endorsed Harris.
“His visit today is to show respect and appreciation to our community,” said Ghalib, who presented Trump with a framed certificate of appreciation.

Trump’s allies have held meetings for months with community leaders in the state, which Biden carried by less than 3 points in 2020. Asked about the Hamtramck mayor’s endorsement, Trump said: “I mean, frankly, it’s an honor. I’ve got a lot of endorsements, Arab Americans, from a lot of people.”
Trump has held 15 separate events in Michigan dating back to April, when Biden was still the presumed Democratic nominee. Including a scheduled Saturday event in Detroit, Harris will have visited Michigan 11 times since she became the nominee, according to AP tracking of the campaigns’ public events.
And while foreign policy rarely sways US elections, the war in the Middle East is a critical concern for many of Michigan’s Arab American voters.
Trump said Sinwar “was not a good person” when asked about the Hamas leader’s death. Sinwar, one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack, was killed Wednesday by Israelis.
“That’s my reaction. That’s sometimes what happens,” Trump told reporters at the airport in Detroit.
Even as he reached out to disillusioned Arab American voters, Trump suggested he would end efforts to encourage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restrain military operations that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Even though Biden “is trying to hold him back ... he probably should be doing the opposite, actually,” Trump said.
Harris highlighted her support from the Arab American community as well.
On Friday, 52 Lebanese Americans endorsed Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying in a letter that the voice of their community “will be heard” under the ticket’s leadership.
The letter reiterated calls for a ceasefire, and it cited a recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary legal status to Lebanese citizens in the US Such status is made available to people from certain countries marred by war, turmoil or natural disasters.
But Harris has also faced demonstrators protesting US support of Israel in the conflict. During a closed-door meeting Thursday with students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she was confronted by a protester, according to a video posted by a pro-Palestinian student group on social media.
According to the video, as Harris was telling students she was invested in them, a protester interrupted her, asking, “And in genocide, right? Billions of dollars in genocide?”
A phalanx of Democratic governors — Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Kathy Hochul of New York — campaigned with Harris earlier Friday.
Longtime Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, emphasized that the army of top Democrats descending on the state was not a sign of panic, stating, “We have to run like we’re behind.”
“A lot of people have always said we’re a blue state. She knows we’re not. And she’s not taking us for granted,” Stabenow told the AP ahead of a rally for Harris in Oakland County.
Both Trump and Harris also made a push for union workers and Black voters as they worked every angle for support.
At an appearance at the United Auto Workers Local 652 hall in Lansing, Harris offered a direct message to union members: “I will always have your back.”
She warned that Trump would undermine collective bargaining and worker protections.
“We’ve got to get the word out to all the brothers and sisters in labor to remind them what this dude does,” she said before the campaign played a clip of Trump saying it’s not hard to build a car. “We could have our child doing it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump talked up his own support among labor unions and criticized the rise of electric cars during a rival event in Oakland County ahead of his evening rally in Detroit.
While visiting a campaign office, Trump said the head of the United Auto Workers — who has endorsed Harris — doesn’t have a clue.
“I’ve saved Michigan,” he said, telling the crowds he would bring back more manufacturing. “We’ll end up having those plants built over here instead of in other countries.”
Later, he called Teamsters President Sean O’Brien “a great guy.” O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, and his union decided not to endorse Harris, which was viewed as a victory for Trump, given the union’s past support for Democrats.
“I think it’s been many decades before they endorsed a Republican. I think they’ll start very soon,” Trump said.
Trump’s Detroit event was his first there since insulting the city last week. While warning what will happen if Harris is elected, he said that “our whole country will end up being like Detroit.” The city spent years hemorrhaging residents and businesses, plunging into deep financial problems, before rebounding in recent years.
“We love Detroit,” Trump said Friday night as the crowd erupted. “We’re going to make Detroit great again.”

The political action committee funded by billionaire Elon Musk to help re-elect former US President Donald Trump is struggling in some swing states to meet doorknocking goals and is investigating claims that some canvassers lied about the number of voters they have contacted, according to people involved in the group’s efforts.
The difficulties, in pivotal battleground states including Wisconsin and Nevada, come as the group, America PAC, races to enlist voters behind the Republican candidate in the final two weeks before the Nov. 5 election. Four people involved in the group’s outreach told Reuters that managers warned canvassers they are missing targets and needed to raise the number of would-be voters they contact.
Alysia McMillan, who canvassed for the PAC in Wisconsin, said field organizers recently told campaigners there they weren’t reaching daily objectives and were on track to miss an ultimate goal of contacting 450,000 voters by Election Day. In one meeting with canvassers, recorded by McMillan and reviewed by Reuters, a manager warned of the shortfall.
“We’re not going to hit 450,000, not with what we’ve got now,” the manager said in the Oct. 8 meeting. It isn’t clear how many knocks the Wisconsin teams have reached so far.
McMillan, who worked for two local contractors hired by America PAC to knock on voter doors, said she is speaking out because she is concerned a shortfall could cost the former president a victory. “If this isn’t looked into in a timely manner, this can result in a waste of time and money and risk President Trump winning the election,” she told Reuters.
McMillan said she was fired by one contractor, after a pay dispute, but was hired by another shortly afterward.
One canvassing manager in Arizona said leaders there had issued similar warnings. Three other people familiar with the outreach told Reuters that Chris Young, a Musk aide and longtime Republican operative, had recently traveled to Nevada to audit whether doorknocking tallies there had been inflated by some of the workers hired by contractors. Another person briefed on the matter said America PAC was struggling to find sufficient people to conduct audits in other states.
A person close to America PAC’s operations said McMillan’s account of a Wisconsin shortfall is inaccurate and that the group will reach its goals. Senior operatives, the person added, routinely visit field offices to check on performance.
Young didn’t respond to a request for comment.
America PAC’s ongoing outreach is built around door-to-door efforts to convince “low propensity voters” – those who may support Trump, but could stay home instead of voting – to cast their ballots. The work has focused on battleground states, where any small difference in voter turnout could clinch victory for Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, in an election that polls continue to say is too close to call.
Musk, ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest person, so far has supplied at least $75 million to America PAC, according to federal disclosures, making the group a crucial part of Trump’s bid to regain the White House. The entrepreneur behind carmaker Tesla and rocket and satellite venture SpaceX has increasingly supported Republican causes. This year, the mogul became an outspoken supporter of Trump, who has said if elected he would appoint Musk to head a government efficiency commission.
Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment.
A Trump campaign spokesperson declined to comment.
Despite the influx of cash, some of America PAC’s outreach has been plagued by disarray, the people familiar with its efforts told Reuters. As with many campaign operations, the group has hired contractors to carry out grass-roots efforts, relying on hourly workers to knock on doors and speak face-to-face with potential voters.
Some of those workers have been difficult to retain. Three canvassers, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters the work isn’t worth the pay, starting at some contractors at as low as $20 per hour. In some cases, they added, canvassers drive long distances in remote areas and don’t get reimbursed for gasoline.
In Nevada, it isn’t clear whether Young’s audit has concluded, reached any findings or prompted any change in America PAC’s outreach. Text messages reviewed by Reuters show managers at one Nevada contractor, Lone Mountain Strategies, fretting because they had to fire canvassers who used smartphone apps to disguise their locations and lie about their doorknocking numbers.
“Our auditors keep catching people cheating,” one of the messages read. “We’ve fired two people today and auditors are going around checking doors for flyers.”
Lone Mountain Strategies didn’t respond to emails or phone calls seeking comment.
America PAC recently updated its website to prominently display advertisements seeking canvassers. “Pay starts at $30 per hour, with bonuses for performance,” the site reads.