WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — “I want to work in partnership with you, make sure your Muslim-American voices are included in the decision-making process... I want to earn your vote, not just because Trump’s not worthy of being president,” Democrat Joe Biden told participants during a recent online summit hosted by the Emgage Action advocacy organization to Mobilize Muslim Voters ahead of the presidential election. Biden.
In comments urging Muslim-Americans to join his fight to defeat President Donald Trump in November, Biden pledged to include Muslim-American voices in his administration if elected, and said he would speak out against human rights abuses against Muslims around the world.
Biden also reiterated his pledge to overturn a Trump Administration ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, calling it “vile.”
Trump’s re-election campaign, meanwhile, said it has included Muslim voters in its "Faith Outreach" efforts on behalf of an incumbent – who has prioritized Religious Liberty in his agenda.
“President Trump understands that our faith is what unites us as a nation,” said Courtney Parella, deputy national press secretary for the Trump re-election campaign.
“He has, and will continue to, staunchly defend Religious Freedoms for all Americans.”
“President Trump understands that our faith is what unites us as a nation,” said Courtney Parella, deputy national press secretary for the Trump re-election campaign.
“He has, and will continue to, staunchly defend Religious Freedoms for all Americans.”
Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, said the organization is seeking to maximize Muslim-American turnout in key battleground states like Michigan – one of the states where the organization has chapters, and where President Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 11,000 votes. Alzayat said he believed there are more than 150,000 registered Muslim-American votersin Michigan.Several prominent Muslim-American elected officials also recently endorsed Biden in a letter organized by Emgage Action ahead of the summit – which carried the title of “Million Muslim Votes” to emphasize its effort to boost the Muslim-American's turnout in November.
Among those who signed the letter are Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (at right,) and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson – all Democrats.
Among those who signed the letter are Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (at right,) and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson – all Democrats.
One of the first Muslim-American women elected to Congress, Omar served as a high-profile surrogate for self-proclaimed Socialist-Democrat Bernie Sanders – making her endorsement potentially helpful as Biden seeks to unify Muslim-American voters in the fall.
The pro-Biden letter from Muslim-American elected officials decries a number of President Trump’s domestic and international policies, including his administration’s travel ban, and his pullout from the Obama-Biden Administration's Iran Nuclear Deal.
Omar’s signature on the letter expands on a Tweet she posted earlier in the month, where she finally announced she would vote for Biden.
But New York Democrat Cong. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – another member of the quartet of "Congresswomen of Color" often known as “The Squad” (below left,) who have become the face of the far-left progressive-socialist Democrat Party movement since their arrival in Congress – has yet to issue a full-throated endorsement of Biden, although she says she intends to vote for him.
AOC – as Ocasio-Cortez has come to be known – served on the Biden-Sanders Task Force that devised the Biden Campaign's recently announced "Climate Change Plan" in order to unite the previously splintered Biden and Sanders backers,
And, another “Squad” member, and former backer of Sanders’ presidential bid, Michigan Cong. Rashida Tlaib, was conspicuously absent from the Emgage-organized letter.
But New York Democrat Cong. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – another member of the quartet of "Congresswomen of Color" often known as “The Squad” (below left,) who have become the face of the far-left progressive-socialist Democrat Party movement since their arrival in Congress – has yet to issue a full-throated endorsement of Biden, although she says she intends to vote for him.
AOC – as Ocasio-Cortez has come to be known – served on the Biden-Sanders Task Force that devised the Biden Campaign's recently announced "Climate Change Plan" in order to unite the previously splintered Biden and Sanders backers,And, another “Squad” member, and former backer of Sanders’ presidential bid, Michigan Cong. Rashida Tlaib, was conspicuously absent from the Emgage-organized letter.
"Residents come up to me and say, 'Rashida, I don't know – I hear Joe Biden this, Joe Biden that.' I say... If the ultimate goal is to get rid of Donald Trump, that doesn't have to involve me actually endorsing Biden."
Nonetheless, others in Muslim-American community praised Biden’s agenda for them in the letter:
“A Biden administration will move the nation forward on many of the issues we care about,” said the letter, citing Racial Injustice, Affordable Health Care, Climate Change, and Immigration & Open Borders Policy Reform as examples.
Among other goals they noted, was Biden's vow to rescind the travel ban affecting Muslims “on Day One” if he’s elected.
Among other goals they noted, was Biden's vow to rescind the travel ban affecting Muslims “on Day One” if he’s elected.
“Muslim-American voices matter to our communities, to our country,” said Biden. “But we all know that your voice hasn’t always gotten recognized or represented – I’ll continue to champion the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to have a state of their own as I have for decades, each of them a state of their own,” Biden said.
Farooq Mitha, senior advisor for Muslim-American Engagement with Biden’s campaign, said reaching out to Muslim-American voters is a priority for Biden, pointing to his own appointment as an example.
“A Biden presidency offers Muslim-American an opportunity to be engaged with government, rather than being shut out like many other groups that have been alienated and demonized by the Trump Administration,” Mitha said. “Muslim-American communities can have an outsized impact in many states, and we are working every day to earn their support.”
Mitha said the Biden campaign has hosted numerous events with Muslim-Americans, and has met with Muslim-American community leaders over the past months.According to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, there are more than 3 million Muslim-American in the United States today, with many living in ‘swing states’.
“Joe Biden’s presence serves not only to galvanize Muslim-American to cast their ballots, but also to usher in an era of engaging with Muslim-American communities under a Biden administration,” said Alzayat prior to the summit.
“The importance of Muslim-American voter participation in this upcoming election is greater than it has ever been. A lot is at stake,” he said.
