Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and a number of prominent Arab-Americans have made a last-ditch plea to encourage members of the community to head to the polls on Tuesday and oust Donald Trump from the White House.
A virtual event – which was hosted by Arab Americans for Biden and a number of state chapters of the Truman National Security Project – also included Arab American Institute President James Zogby, Grammy-award winning composer David Yazbek, artist and author Najla Said, former US ambassador to Morocco Edward Gabriel and famous comedian, writer and TV host Bassem Youssef and actor Ramy Youssef.
Tlaib, who represents Michigan’s 13th congressional district, has long been one of the most outspoken political foes of President Trump in Congress.
Her opposition to Trump has not gone unnoticed by the President. In 2019 he urged Tlaib, alongside fellow ‘squad’ members Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to “go back” to the countries they’ve come from and accused them of being incapable of “loving our country.”
Door knocking with my son because we don't follow polls. We know the importance of focusing on people and ensuring that our community knows their vote matters. People over polls, community over me, love over hate. #13District #Rootedincommunity pic.twitter.com/z8RbefMJJ5
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 1, 2020
Of the four, all US citizens, only Omar was born outside the United States.
In her remarks on Sunday, Tlaib said that there was a metaphorical “wall around the White House” that has, in her opinion, prevented Arab-Americans from having a voice in the administration.
“We have to get a door, a door that we can knock down and have conversations about critically important issues,” she said. “That means getting a Biden and Harris administration in [to the White House].”
“This isn’t about one day. This is about after the elections, having critically important conversations around poverty, Covid relief, environmental injustice, racism in our country and so many more issues,” Tlaib added.
Happy #GOTV weekend!! Please join us in (virtually) attending this exciting, star-studded event tonight at 8 PM EST! We have a number of #celebrities joining us for a GOTV rally. #YallaVote @ramy @RamiMalekOnline @kathynajimy @ahmedcomedy
Register here: https://t.co/7CE04Bf5rE
— Arab Americans for Biden (@AA4Biden) November 1, 2020
Additionally, Tlaib encouraged Arab-Americans to be proactive in helping other members of their communities head to the polls to vote on Tuesday if they haven’t already done so.
“Don’t assume your neighbours, your cousins, your family, folks that you work with, know how critically important this election is,” she said. “You are the people they can be inspired by. Please show up. Let’s do this.”
During the event, American-Egyptian actor Ramy Youssef said that he believes “the choice is clear” for Arab-Americans, even though he acknowledged that, like many members of the community, he disagrees with some of Biden’s policy positions.
“The thing we’re looking for is to engage with the system,” he said. “If you came to this country as a lot of our families did, it was to have an attempt at something better.”
US President Donald Trump (L) and US Vice President Mike Pence (R) greet supporters at a rally on November 2, 2020 in Traverse City, Michigan. Image: Getty Images
“It’s not perfect yet, but the only way we can get even close to those ideals is an administration that’s accountable, and an administration we can talk to,” Youssef added. “I think we can talk to Joe Biden.”
A poll released last week by the Washington DC-based Arab American Institute found that 59 percent of Arab-Americans plan to cast their ballot for Biden, compared to 35 percent who said they would vote to re-elect Trump.
According to the statistics, Biden is viewed “favourably” by 74 percent of Arab-American voters, and unfavourably by 25 percent. President Trump, for his part, was viewed favourably by 48 percent of voters.
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