A Muslim-American Democrat was removed from Vice President Kamala Harris’s rally in Michigan without being given a reason, amid increased tensions between the Democrat Party and Muslim Americans.
Ahmed Ghanim, a former Congressional candidate, claimed in a video on X that he was “kicked out of Harris’s rally in Royal Oak, Michigan, on Monday, noting that Harris staffers did not “want to provide any reason” for why he was being kicked out.
In his video, Ghanim compared how in 2016, Muslims were “kicked out of” former President Donald Trump’s rallies, and now they were being kicked out of Harris’s rallies. Ghanim added that while he was kicked out of Harris’s rally, Trump was meeting with Muslim leaders.
“Hello, everyone,” Ghanim began. “My name is Ahmed A.G. Ghanim, and I am a former Congressional candidate here in Oakland County, this is Royal Oak, Michigan. I live five minutes away from here, I came here to attend the rally for Vice President Harris. I went through security, they got my name, they got me my seat, then after ten minutes, the staffers for Harris came and kicked me out of the venue and I asked, ‘Why are you kicking me out? I didn’t do anything.’ They didn’t want to provide any reason.”
Ghanim continued to add that he was “threatened” by the Harris staffers, who said they’d have him arrested and the police brought in if he didn’t “move.”
“I don’t have any logos or signs or anything on me,” Ghanim continued. “I’m just dressed normally, I was just you know — sitting like anyone sitting there. And, out of the people sitting there, out of the — I think around 200 people sitting there, they picked me up and told me, ‘Come with us’ and they kicked me out.”
Ghanim continued to compare being kicked out of Harris’s rally to how in 2016, Muslims were “kicked out” of former President Trump’s rally, describing it as being “racial profiling because you are a Muslim.”
“In 2016, as Muslims, we used to get kicked out of Trump rally, now we are kicked out of Harris’s rally,” Ghanim added.
The Harris campaign issued a statement to the Detroit Metro Times that they regretted “this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community,” adding that he was “welcome at future events.”
“The campaign was swiftly informed by Engage Action of yesterday’s incident and looked into it,” the Harris campaign said in the statement. “Our campaign regrets this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community, and he is welcome at future events. We value our relationship with the Muslim American community and are committed to ensuring all community and political spaces are welcoming and respectful to every American.
Trump has seen an increase in support from the Arab American community and has received endorsements from Arab American politicians, such as Hamtramck Mayor Ameer Ghalib, as Arab Americans have become increasingly unhappy with how the Biden administration has handled the war between Israel and Hamas.
An Arab News/YouGov poll found that Trump received 45 percent of support from Arab Americans, while 43 percent expressed support for Harris.
The poll also found that 39 percent felt that a Trump administration would be “most likely to successfully” resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine, while 33 percent felt that a Harris administration would be the most successful in resolving the conflict.
On Friday, Trump appeared at a press conference with Ghalib, who has previously described Trump as being the “right choice” during such a “critical time.”