HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – President Donald Trump announced that Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib will be the next U.S. ambassador of Kuwait. The President credited the Yemen native with helping secure Michigan’s 15 electoral votes for the Republican ticket in the Nov. 5, 2024 election.

MORE NEWS: B1G Champs MSU Finishes Off Regular Season Taking Down Michigan

The 45-year-old Ghalib became the first Arab American and Muslim mayor of Hamtramck in 2021. Southeast Michigan, including the greater Metro Detroit area, is typically a Democratic stronghold. During the 2024 election, Ghalib endorsed Trump and campaigned alongside him.

Apparently, Ghalib’s backing of Trump helped shift Arab American allegiance from the Democratic party to the GOP. In 2020, 82% of Muslim-majority Dearborn voters cast a ballot for President Joe Biden. In 2024, only 24% of Democrats voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. Other Arab American enclaves, including Ghalib’s Hamtramck, put their votes behind the GOP. This shift likely stems from the Biden administration’s handling of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.