LANSING: Just a week after winning a majority of the vote in several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed “there is no such thing as Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, the two Trump advisers who led his outreach to Arab Americans have not secured positions in the administration yet.
The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and Muslims in Michigan, which went for Trump along with all six other battleground states. Some noted Trump’s longstanding support for Israel and said their vote against Vice President Kamala Harris was not necessarily an endorsement of him. Others who openly supported him say he will be the final decisionmaker on policy and hope he will keep his promise of achieving an end to the conflicts in the Middle East.
Albert Abbas, a Lebanese American leader whose brother owns the Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant Trump visited in the campaign’s final days, stood beside the former president during that visit and spoke in support of him.
Now, Abbas says it’s “too early” to judge Trump and that “we all need to take a deep breath, take a step back and let him do the work that he needs to do to to achieve this peace.”
“I just want you to think about what the alternative was,” said Abbas, referring to the current administration’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon. He added, “What did you expect from myself or many members of the community to do?”
Beyond promising peace in the Middle East, Trump has offered few concrete details on how he plans to achieve it. His transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
Throughout the campaign, his surrogates often focused more on criticizing Harris than outlining his agenda. And visuals of the conflict — with tens of thousands of deaths collectively in Gaza and Lebanon — stirred anger among many in Arab and Muslim communities about President Joe Biden and Harris’ backing of Israel.
Amin Hashmi, a Pakistani American in Michigan who voted for Trump, urged him to stay true to his campaign commitments to bring peace.
“I am disappointed but not surprised,” said Hashmi, who urged Trump to “keep the promise you made to the people of Arab descent in Michigan.”
Trump picks what pro-Israel conservatives call a ‘dream team’
Those in the community with concerns have specifically pointed to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, nominated as Trump’s ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has consistently rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel, strongly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposed a two-state solution, claiming “there really isn’t such a thing” as Palestinians in referring to the descendants of people who lived in Palestine before the establishment of Israel.
While Huckabee has sparked the most concern among community members, other Trump Cabinet picks have strongly spoken in Israel’s favor as it targets Hamas following the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which it killed 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds more as hostage.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated for secretary of state, has opposed a ceasefire in the war, stating that he wants Israel to “destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on.”
Trump’s pick to be his ambassador to the United Nations, New York Rep. Elize Stefanik, led the questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on campuses. She has also opposed funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which oversees aid to Gaza.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, which organized for Trump in Michigan, has been outspoken in its support for many of Trump’s Cabinet picks. Sam Markstein, the group’s political director, described the proposed lineup as a “pro-Israel dream team,” adding that “folks are giddy about the picks.” He praised Trump’s pro-Israel record as “second to nobody.”
“The days of this mealymouthed, trying to have support in both camps of this issue are over,” Markstein said. “The way to secure the region is peace through strength, and that means no daylight between Israel and the United States.”
No roles yet for key figures in Trump’s Arab American outreach
Among the reasons some Arab American voters supported Trump was that they believed his prominent supporters would be key in the next administration.
Massad Boulos, a Lebanese businessman and father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, led efforts to engage the Arab American community, organizing dozens of meetings across Michigan and other areas with large Arab populations. Some sessions also featured Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence, who was well-regarded by those who met with him.
Neither Boulos nor Grenell has been tapped yet for the coming administration, though Grenell was once considered a potential secretary of state before Rubio was selected. Boulos declined to comment and Grenell did not respond to a request for comment.
“Some people expected Trump to be different and thought Massad would play a significant role,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, which declined to endorse a candidate in the presidential race.
Siblani himself turned down a suggested meeting with Trump after the non-endorsement announcement.
“But now people are coming to us and saying, ‘Look what you’ve done,’” Siblani said. “We had a choice between someone actively shooting and killing you and someone threatening to do so. We had to punish the person who was shooting and killing us at the time.”
Some Arab Americans who voted for Trump are concerned about his picks for key positions
https://arab.news/z82dx
Some Arab Americans who voted for Trump are concerned about his picks for key positions
- The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and Muslims in Michigan, which went for Trump along with all six other battleground states
- Beyond promising peace in the Middle East, Trump has offered few concrete details on how he plans to achieve it
Canadian Prime Minister Carney calls Trump’s auto tariffs a ‘direct attack’ on his country
- Autos are Canada’s second largest export, and Carney noted it employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries
- The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales
TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs are a “direct attack” on his country and that the trade war is hurting Americans, noting that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low.
Trump said earlier Wednesday that he was placing 25 percent tariffs on auto imports and, to underscore his intention, he stated “This is permanent.”
“This is a very direct attack,” Carney responded. “We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country.”
Carney said he needs to see the details of Trump’s executive order before taking retaliatory measures. He called it unjustified and said he will leave the election campaign to go to Ottawa on Thursday to chair his special Cabinet committee on US relations.
Carney earlier announced a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) “strategic response fund” that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump’s tariffs.
Autos are Canada’s second largest export, and Carney noted it employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
“Canada will be there for auto workers,” he said.
Trump previously granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers.
The president has plunged the US into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its USconsumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021.
“His trade war is hurting American consumers and workers and it will hurt more. I see that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low,” Carney said earlier while campaigning in Windsor, Ontario ahead of Canada’s April 28 election.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
Trump previously 25 percent tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.
“He wants to break us so America can own us,” Carney said. “And it will never ever happen because we just don’t look out for ourselves we look out for each other.”
Carney, former two-time central banker, made the earlier comments while campaigning against the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge, which is considered the busiest US-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25 percent of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.
Carney said the bridge carries $140 billion Canadian dollars ($98 billion) in goods every year and CA$400 million ($281 million) per day.
“Now those numbers and the jobs and the paychecks that depend on that are in question,” Carney said. “The relationship between Canada and the United States has changed. We did not change it.”
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-US border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, whose province has the bulk of Canada’s auto industry, Ford said auto plants on both sides the border will shut simultaneously if the tariffs go ahead.
“President is calling it Liberation Day. I call it Termination Day for American workers. I know President Trump likes tell people ‘Your fired!” I didn’t think he meant US auto workers when he said it,” Ford said.
Trump has declared a trade war on his northern neighbor and continues to call for Canada to become the 51st state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
Canadians booed Trump repeatedly at a Carney election rally in Kitchener, Ontario.
The new prime minister, sworn in March 14, still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump. It is unusual for a US president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
“It would be appropriate that the president and I speak given the action that he has taken. I’m sure that will happen soon,” Carney said.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said the tariffs will damage American auto workers just as they will damage Canadian auto workers.
“The message to President Trump should be to knock it off,” Poilievre said. “He’s changed his mind before. He’s done this twice, puts them on, takes them off. We can suspect that may well happen again.”
Mass Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv, nine injured
- Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there had been at least 12 drone strikes on the city, a frequent target of Russia’s military, located some 30 km from the border
Russian forces launched a mass drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, late on Wednesday, injuring nine people and causing considerable damage, emergency services and officials said.
Emergency services, posting on the Telegram messaging app, said the attacks started four fires in the city center and posted pictures of firefighters battling flames alongside piles of rubble. The strikes, it said, caused serious damage to buildings.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there had been at least 12 drone strikes on the city, a frequent target of Russia’s military, located some 30 km (18 miles) from the border.
Kharkiv resisted capture in the early weeks of Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but has been repeatedly hit by drones and missiles and Russian forces changed the focus of their campaign to Ukraine’s east.
A drone attack also triggered fires in the central city of Dnipro, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. Pictures posted online showed smoke and flames drifting skyward.
No casualties were immediately reported in the city.
South Sudan VP Machar’s party trying to locate him after arrest warrant issued
- Earlier on Wednesday, the United Nations reported clashes over the past 24 hours between forces loyal to the two men outside the capital Juba
The party of South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar said on Wednesday it was trying to locate him after the defense minister and chief of national security “forcefully entered” his residence and delivered an arrest warrant.
In a statement, the SPLM-IO party condemned “a blatant violation of the Constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement,” which ended a 2013-2018 civil war between forces loyal to Machar on one side and to President Salva Kiir on the other.
“His bodyguards were disarmed, and an arrest warrant was delivered to him under unclear charges. Attempts are currently being made to relocate him,” the statement said.
A government spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, the United Nations reported clashes over the past 24 hours between forces loyal to the two men outside the capital Juba.
Those clashes followed weeks of tensions that originated in fighting in the country’s northeast between government troops and a militia that has historically been close to Machar’s forces.
Kiir’s government, in turn, detained several officials from Machar’s party, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army, leading the UN to warn of the risk of renewed civil war.
The civil war from 2013-2018 resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths in the world’s youngest nation, which won its independence from Sudan in 2011.
Trump announces 25 percent tariffs on foreign-built cars, light trucks
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced imposition of 25 percent tariffs on all cars and light trucks not built on US soil.
“What we’re going to be doing is a 25 percent tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States. If they’re made in the United States, it is absolutely no tariff,” he announced at the White House.
Kosovo says Kenya joined countries recognizing it
PRISTINA: Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani on Wednesday said that Kenya had become the latest nation to recognize Kosovo as an independent country and has pledged to open diplomatic ties.
“Kosovo continues to move forward on its path of integration and strengthening its international position,” Osmani said on her Facebook account.
In her post, she published a proclamation she said was from Kenyan President William Ruto that spoke of Kosovo’s right to self-determination and included a statement that said “this recognition will extend to the establishment of diplomatic relations.”
Serbia’s ministry of foreign affairs “strongly condemned” Kenya’s decision to recognize “the unilaterally declared independence of so-called ‘Kosovo’.”
“Such a move constitutes a gross violation of international law and a direct violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244,” the ministry said in a statement.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a war in the late 1990s between Serb forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents in what was then a breakaway Serbian province.
While the United States, many European nations and other countries recognize Kosovo as independent, Serbia and two of its most powerful allies — Russia and China — do not.
Serbia says it has persuaded some countries to withdraw recognition, but Kosovo denies this and insists that more than 100 countries do.
