Trump visits Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan

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Donald Trump became the first presidential candidate to visit the city of Dearborn, Michigan, home to the country's largest Arab-American population, as he continues his attempts to woo the community.

The Republican is trying to garner the support of the influential community in the swing state, with days left until election day on November 5.

Many Arab Americans have expressed frustration with the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running as the Democratic nominee, for its strong support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.

More than 100,000 registered Democrat voters in Michigan voted “uncommitted” during a party primary earlier this year to express discontent with Mr Biden before he ended his re-election bid.

“You're going to have peace in the Middle East, and they should have peace in the Middle East,” he said during a brief visit to The Great Commoner restaurant.

He added that he would do a much better job in dealing with the region's problems than the “clowns” currently leading the US.

More than 43,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks last year, local health officials say, and humanitarian conditions have severely deteriorated.

Asked about the conflict in Lebanon, Mr Trump said: ""I know many people from Lebanon and we have to get this whole thing over with.”

More than 2,900 people in Lebanon have been killed amid Israeli military operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon's Health Ministry has reported.

Mr Trump's daughter, Tiffany, is married to Lebanese-American businessman Michael Boulos, with whom she is expecting a child.

Dearborn's Mayor Abdullah Hammoud condemned Mr Trump's visit earlier on Friday, calling him the “architect of the Muslim ban”, a policy the former president enacted that blocked the entry of people from a number of Muslim-majority countries to the US.

“People in this community know what Trump stands for – we suffered through it for years. I’ve refused a sit down with him although the requests keep pouring in,” Mr Hammoud wrote in a post on X.

“Trump will never be my president.”

Mr Hammoud, a Democrat, briefly addressed his party in the post: “Your unwillingness to stop funding and enabling a genocide created the space for Trump to infiltrate our communities. Remember that.”