Republican caucuses? Iowa’s Arabs and Muslims are more concerned with Gaza
Al Jazeera
Alienated by Republicans, some Arab American advocates in Iowa say they will not vote for President Joe Biden either.
Des Moines, Iowa – National media, political pundits and United States presidential hopefuls all converged on the state capital of Des Moines this week, as it played host to the final Republican debate before the Iowa caucuses.
But just miles down the road from where Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis traded barbs on Wednesday night, local businessman Mohamed Ali was unfazed.
“Honestly, we don’t care about them,” Ali told Al Jazeera, blowing smoke from his hookah pipe in a packed cafe outside Des Moines. “With all the debates, they all fight and compete over who supports Israel more.”
While indifferent towards the race for the Republican nomination, the 46-year-old Palestinian American father of three said one thing was certain: He would not back Democratic President Joe Biden for a second term in November.
Israel’s war in Gaza had been a turning point for Ali, who previously supported Biden in 2020.
