Former president Trump held a rally today in Novi, Michigan. During that rally he discussed a meeting he'd held earlier in the day with representatives of Arab American and Muslim American groups. Then several of the leaders came out on stage and endorsed him during the rally.

At the Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave., a group of Muslim imams from the Michigan Chapter of the Arab American Bar Association took the stage to endorse Trump, expressing their support for his stance on ending the wars in the Middle East.

“We as Muslims stand with President Trump because he promises peace not war,” one of the imams said. “We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine.”...

“Muslim and Arab voters could turn this election,” Trump said. He additionally praised Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib for endorsing him earlier in the election cycle. “We’re going to set an all-time record with the Arab and Muslim voters.”

I think it has been clear to everyone for weeks that this represents a real problem for the Harris camp, unfortunately for her there's nothing she can do. She can't come out and undermine the sitting president as part of his administration. She just has to stick with the hand she has been dealt. Meanwhile, almost every day there is a new story about Arab Americans turning away from Harris. There's a new one today from NBC News.

In Dearborn, Michigan, America’s only Arab-majority city, voters are wrestling with difficult decisions ahead of the upcoming general election. After speaking with dozens of Arab Americans here, it’s clear the community, traditionally leaning Democratic, now finds itself disillusioned by both major parties, especially over the U.S. handling of the war in Gaza. With frustration mounting over foreign policy and domestic issues like inflation and health care, many question who truly represents their values. And as Election Day approaches, the debate continues: whether to support the familiar, vote third party, or sit this one out altogether.

Those last two options amount to almost the same thing as far as Democrats are concerned. Vote for Jill Stein or just stay home. Either way it's probably a vote that would previously have gone to Democrats.

Married couple Ayan Ajeen, 26, and Arhum Arshad, 28, are considering voting for Stein as protest.

“It’s either third party or not at all,” Arshad said. “It’s more so just voting for anybody but the two parties. In my rationale, it’s letting them know, ‘You lost this vote.’”

If you're in the Harris camp, that's gotta hurt. Polls show they can't afford to lose these voters but it looks like it's too late to turn things around. Some will vote for Stein, some will stay home and there really are some who are moving toward Trump.

“On Trump’s end, he’s already been in office — we saw how he is, he’s not all bad,” Shohatee, a Yemeni American, said. “If I had to vote for one of them — Kamala or Trump — it’ll be most likely Trump.”

Of course some Arab Americans will hold their nose and still vote for Harris but this year it may not be enough. Many Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan appear to have given up on the Democrats this year. As Trump said today at his rally, "they could turn the election one way or the other."