US Muslim leaders who supported Republican Donald Trump to protest against the Biden administration's support for Israel's war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon have been deeply disappointed by his cabinet picks, they tell Reuters.
"Trump won because of us and we're not happy with his secretary of state pick and others," said Rabiul Chowdhury, a Philadelphia investor who chaired the Abandon Harris campaign in Pennsylvania and co-founded Muslims for Trump. Muslim support for Trump helped him win Michigan and may have factored into other swing state wins, strategists believe.
Trump picked Republican senator Marco Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel for secretary of state. Rubio said earlier this year he would not call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he believed Israel should destroy "every element" of Hamas. "These people are vicious animals," he added.
Trump also nominated Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and staunch pro-Israel conservative who backs Israeli occupation of the West Bank and has called a two state solution in Palestine "unworkable", as the next ambassador to Israel.
He has picked Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, who called the UN a "cesspool of antisemitism" for its condemnation of deaths in Gaza, to serve as US ambassador to the UN.
Rexhinaldo Nazarko, executive director of the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network (AMEEN), said Muslim voters had hoped Trump would choose cabinet officials who work towards peace, and there was no sign of that.
"We are very disappointed," he said. "It seems like this administration has been packed entirely with neo-conservatives and extremely pro-Israel, pro-war people, which is a failure on the on the side of President Trump, to the pro-peace and anti-war movement."
Nazarko said the community would continue pressing to make its voices heard after rallying votes to help Trump win. "At least we're on the map."
Hassan Abdel Salam, a former professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and co-founder of the Abandon Harris campaign, which endorsed Green Party candidate Jill Stein, said Trump's staffing plans were not surprising, but had proven even more extreme that he had feared.
"It's like he's going on Zionist overdrive," he said. "We were always extremely skeptical...Obviously we're still waiting to see where the administration will go, but it does look like our community has been played."
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Reuters