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In reporting on Trump's outreach to Arab American voters, national and Michigan outlets excluded Trump’s promise to reinstate a Muslim ban

Trump has promised to reinstate his ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries and expand it to Gaza

Written by Jack Wheatley

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In the final weeks before the 2024 presidential election, national media and Michigan-based outlets have focused on former President Donald Trump’s efforts to court Arab American voters. But many of these outlets have left out critical details about the former president’s promise to reinstate his first-term executive order banning travel to the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries — the so-called “Muslim ban” — and his vow that it would now include Gaza.

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  • Trump pledged to expand his administration’s Muslim ban during a second term

    • In September, Trump doubled down on the controversial travel ban from his first term and said that he would expand the proposal, promising that his administration would turn away refugees from Gaza. In a September speech to the Israeli American Council’s annual conference, Trump said that he would “ban refugee resettlement from terror-infested areas like the Gaza Strip” and “seal our border and bring back the travel ban.” Trump continued, “Remember the famous travel ban? We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world.” He also railed against those he described as “foreign jihad sympathizers” who are “ripping down and burning our shopping centers” and “killing people.” [Salon, 9/19/24] 
    • Last October, Trump told his supporters at an event in Iowa that his administration would carry out “strong ideological screenings” of migrants coming into the country, in addition to reinstating the travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries from his first term. “We aren’t bringing in anyone from Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen or Libya or anywhere else that threatens our security,” the former president said. [The Daily Beast, 10/16/23]
    • Studies show Trump’s travel ban caused serious and lasting harm, including separating thousands of family members from each other, many of them children. According to NBC News, “The State Department said that in the first 11 months the order was in effect, it denied over 35,000 visa applications because of the policy. Only 6 percent of applicants subject to the order were granted waivers.” These applications for immigrant and non-immigrant visas were reportedly “filed by people subject to the travel ban who otherwise qualified for the visas and needed waivers to get them.” [Brennan Center for Justice, 6/19/19; NBC News, 1/20/21; Reuters, 4/4/19]
    • Arab American Michiganders are a crucial and diverse voting bloc in the upcoming bid for the White House. Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly with Arab American voters, according to one recent poll by Arab News and YouGov, and in September he received the endorsement of Amer Ghalib, the Democratic mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan — a prominent majority-Muslim city outside of Detroit. Furthermore, the editor of the Michigan-based Arab American News released an announcement telling its readers not to vote for either candidate at the top of the ticket, in part because “both candidates have endorsed genocide in Gaza and war in Lebanon.” [Al Jazeera, 10/22/24, 9/23/24; The Arab American News, 10/18/24]

  • National news outlets highlighted Trump’s outreach to the Arab American community in October coverage, but often left out his promise to reinstate the travel ban

    • The Associated Press published an October 22 piece titled “Mideast conflict looms over US presidential race as Harris and Trump jostle for an edge” that ignored Trump’s pledge to bring back his first-term travel ban. The article noted that Trump has “participated in interviews with Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya and Lebanese outlet MTV, where he promised to bring about peace and said ‘things will turn out very well’ in Lebanon.” But it failed to mention Trump’s promise to reinstate a Muslim travel ban if he is reelected. [The Associated Press, 10/2/24]
    • The Hill also reported on Trump’s efforts to win over Arab American voters by criticizing former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney's appearance with Harris, but did not mention his plans for a travel ban from Muslim-majority countries. The outlet wrote that “Trump drew scrutiny earlier this month when he claimed he had been to Gaza and suggested the territory could be ‘better than Monaco’ if rebuilt properly.” [The Hill, 10/21/24]
    • The New York Times published a piece on October 18 that ignored Trump’s proposed reinstatement of a Muslim ban while reporting on his efforts to win favor among Arab American voters, including his endorsement from Hamtramck’s mayor. The Times wrote that “Mr. Trump told his supporters that he wanted to urgently achieve peace in the Middle East. But earlier, he still offered praise for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war, saying that he was ‘doing a good job.’” [The New York Times, 10/18/24]
    • Forbes published an October 22 article listing Trump’s social media posts attacking Cheney, describing them as an “attempt to draw support from Arab Americans” but did not mention Trump’s promise for a Muslim ban if reelected. The outlet reported, “In what appears to be a tacit attempt to draw support from Arab Americans, Trump wrote ‘Now Kamala wants Arabs to vote for her? I don’t think so!’ This was the second time Trump attempted to draw attention from Arab-American voters who he claimed in a Monday post were ‘very upset’ with Harris for campaigning alongside Cheney.” [Forbes, 10/22/24]
    • On ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, correspondent Rachel Scott mentioned that “Trump is trying to appeal to Arab American voters who are frustrated by the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza,” but made no mention of his promise to reinstate the Muslim travel ban. [ABC, ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, 10/18/24]
    • Many of the same mainstream outlets, including The Associated Press and The New York Times, did include mentions of Trump’s promise to reinstate his travel ban in other reporting on outreach to Arab Americans. Some other articles mentioned his first-term ban. [The Associated Press, 10/18/24, 6/19/24, 5/22/24; The New York Times, 10/17/24, 5/22/24] 

  • During October coverage of Trump, local Michigan outlets have also failed to mention his promise for a Muslim ban if reelected

    • Discussing some recent local endorsements, including the Hamtramck mayor's endorsement of Trump, Detroit’s NBC affiliate WDIV’s Local 4 News said, “Trump’s campaign is trying to recruit local Arab Americans who are disenchanted with Democrats,” but did not mention Trump’s proposal to reinstate the Muslim ban. [WDIV-TV, Local 4 News, 10/22/24]
    • On October 24, WJBK’s Fox 2 News Morning reported on Arab American News’ announcement that it would be telling its readers not to vote for either presidential candidate, but did not mention his promise to reinstate the Muslim ban. The outlet quoted “the publisher of the Arab American News” as saying, “in the last year, the Trump campaign has been working hard to get the Arab American vote by saying none of this would have happened under Trump’s watch, under a Trump administration.” [WJBK, Fox 2 News Morning, 10/24/24] 
    • WWJ’s CBS News at 6 covered news that two mayors endorsed Trump, framing the report as “local Arab American leaders are showing their support for the Trump campaign.” The report did not mention Trump’s promise to reinstate the travel ban. [WWJ, CBS News at 6, 10/22/24]
    • On October 19, the Detroit Free Press reported on local campaign stops by Harris and Trump, writing that “both candidates are vying for votes among Arab Americans in Michigan, a group that has leaned Democratic in the past but where Trump has been trying to make inroads,” but failed to include Trump’s pledge to renew the Muslim travel ban. [Detroit Free Press, 10/19/24]