Is It in the Best Interest of Arabs and Muslims for Biden or Trump to Win?

The upcoming American elections might be the most anticipated by the American people. They come at a time of deep division within American society, where the middle ground has disappeared, and the American people are split between the right and the left.

Biden represents (internally) the face of an America that embraces all American communities, such as African Americans, the Latino community, Asian Americans, and other minorities. On the other hand, we see Donald Trump, who represents the viewpoint of the conservative white Christian American man who believes that the United States is being hijacked and is in decline due to the influx of immigrants and the erosion of traditional American society. This is evident from his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” a slogan that is not new to American society. It first appeared during former President Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1980 due to the economic recession and decline that the United States faced in 1979. It was also used by former President Bill Clinton.

However, Trump’s use of this slogan differs in that it was previously linked to economic recession or internal or external crises. Trump’s campaign exploited this slogan to provoke the white American community, some of whom might be considered somewhat racist, especially towards other groups in American society. Trump also commercialized this slogan by selling products bearing “Make America Great Again”!

In the eyes of many, after winning the American presidential election in 2016, Trump destroyed the democratic values upon which the United States was built since its independence on July 4, 1776. He created hostilities for the United States with friendly and allied countries. Additionally, on January 6, 2021, his supporters stormed the Capitol building because he first refused to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 election to Biden, and his supporters secondly stormed the Capitol, the seat of the federal legislative power in America. This disrupted the joint session of Congress held to count the electoral votes and formalize Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

After winning the election, Joe Biden, up to the present, as we are in mid-2024 and three months before the upcoming presidential election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, has not been the president Americans wished for after Trump’s term. He suffers from physical and mental decline, and some non-Republicans, the opposing party to Biden’s Democrats, doubt Biden’s ability to lead the world’s strongest nation!

Joe Biden stumbles in speeches, forgets names, and often loses focus, not being aware of place and time! He trips when boarding and exiting planes! In the recent presidential debate between him and Trump a few weeks ago, Biden did not perform well, and Trump gained many points over him. This has led some senior members of the Democratic Party, to which Biden belongs, to doubt his ability to face Trump in the presidential race. Some even called for him to withdraw from the race and nominate another candidate to face Trump!

Joe Biden led a failed operation, the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, which was heavily criticized for the chosen date of withdrawal, September 11, a sad day for Americans as it coincides with the fall of the World Trade Center towers and the killing of 13 American soldiers during the withdrawal operation.

Many Americans believe Biden has failed to address the Russia/Ukraine war, and some view his stance on Israel’s crimes against Gaza as shameful, especially among American university students. Some believe Biden has failed or has not done much in sensitive domestic issues such as healthcare, student loans, the immigration crisis, taxes, and protecting minorities. Biden has achievements, but they have not met the expected level for a president following Trump’s tumultuous term!

Many await the results of the upcoming American presidential election in November 2024, both American citizens and the international community. Some Americans consider these the last real elections, while others believe that if Trump wins, it will mark the beginning, not of a war, but of civil skirmishes between different communities in America. Americans are looking for a president who can confront China’s supremacy, one of America’s worst nightmares!

The international community, on the other hand, is waiting either for a president who does not do much like Biden or a president like Trump who deals with international issues as personal business deals, while the world lives amid many international crises such as Israel’s war on Gaza, the Russia/Ukraine crisis, and the Iranian nuclear file.

Meanwhile, the Muslim and Arab community does not expect much from these elections, as regardless of the name of the president sitting in the Oval Office of the White House, the Palestinian issue will remain unresolved, the normalization train will not stop, and we will continue to be viewed by every new administration as third-world societies, a racist and unrealistic term!