Hello everyone. My name is Ahmed 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. [00:00:16] They gave me my seat. Then after ten minutes, the staffers for Harris came and kicked me out of the, of the venue. Kamala Harris's campaign has made the bold decision to kick Muslim leaders [00:00:34] out of their campaign events, even as they are literally trying to persuade Muslim and Arab voters in the critical swing state of Michigan to cast their ballots for Harris in the race. Now, as we know, there's an uncommitted campaign that seeks to get Kamala Harris [00:00:51] to agree to an arms embargo toward Israel, considering, you know, the atrocities that have been committed in the Gaza Strip. Now there's a war raging in Lebanon. There is a very possible war with Iran coming up soon. [00:01:07] And so I certainly sympathize with the uncommitted, you know, Arab and Muslim community who is not happy with Harris at the moment. And they have been, in some cases, you know, protesting some of her events. So I think that that set the tone [00:01:24] or inform their decision to preemptively toss someone out of a campaign event when they really should not have done that. So the gentleman that you just heard from is Ahmed, Ganim. He is a former Democratic congressional candidate in the Detroit area. [00:01:41] And so he ended up losing the election to Representative Haley Stevens. Haley Stevens is a third term Democrat who has received significant backing from the pro-Israel lobby. He immigrated to the United States from Egypt back in 2001. [00:01:56] I'm talking about Ahmed Ghanim now and has been an outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza. As we have, you know, it's one thing to, you know, allegedly want to go after Hamas, but clearly Israel has gone above and beyond and has committed all sorts of [00:02:14] atrocities killing journalists, targeting, you know, humanitarian aid workers. You have children with gunshot wounds to the head showing up at hospitals. They're not allowing any humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. And so he's been critical of the Democratic Party and their willingness [00:02:32] to engage and enable the kind of bloodshed that's been going on now. He declined to attend Kamala Harris's moderated discussion. I'm sorry. Not declined. He decided to attend Kamala Harris's moderated discussion in Royal Oak, [00:02:50] Michigan, to listen to what she has to say, as anyone interested in engaging in the democratic process would. And he says that he, you know, went through the proper channels like he RSVP'd for the event. He cleared security, and then he sat down in the auditorium. But according to him, Harris campaign staffers quickly booted him out. [00:03:11] I asked, why are you picking me out? I didn't do anything. They didn't want to provide any reason, and they just threatened me. They threatened me to arrest me and bring the police if I don't move. As you see me, I'm not dressed in a cafe. [00:03:26] I don't have any, logos or signs or anything on me. 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 [00:03:41] people sitting there, they picked me up and told me, come with us. And they kicked me out, I guess, and I was not protesting. I didn't have any signs on me. That's. This is really surprising to me, except for because it's racial profiling. [00:03:58] Because you are a muslim and Muslims are not are not allowed in her rally. - I guess. - What are we doing here? Honestly, what are we doing here now? I mean, it sounds outlandish, right? Because the Democratic Party is supposed to be the tolerant party. [00:04:16] Democratic party is not supposed to discriminate. They're not supposed to racially profile except when it happens. And in this case, it happened. In fact, he actually got part of the moment on security, the moment where security kicked him out on video. So let's take a look at that. [00:04:32] But I want to know why you're kicking me out from there. I'm not kicking you out. The venue is kicking you out. Who's the venue? The venue? How? The venue knew about me. I have no idea. They've asked you to leave, so I was going to give you. The option is no longer a conversation. So can we please escort the building, please? Thank you. Okay. [00:04:52] I'm glad. I'm glad the Muslims like that. That's. That's amazing. Yeah, that really is amazing. Oh my God. No, but it gets worse because he goes outside and guess what was waiting for him? Police. So there were two police officers waiting for him. [00:05:09] The police officer said you either leave now or I'll put you in the back of my car. He hasn't done anything. Okay. He went through the proper channels. He RSVP'd for the event. He cleared security. He has like. There's no indication that he's planning to protest the event. [00:05:27] They just preemptively kicked him out. That's insane. That is insane. And wait till you find out what Trump was up to as this was happening. Not a good look, I'll put it that way. So Ganim says that he and many other Muslims already felt pretty [00:05:45] alienated by the Democratic Party, I think for obvious reasons. But this is the latest incident that really doesn't help the image that the Arab, American and Muslim American community in America has toward the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris's campaign. [00:06:02] They keep saying they want the Muslim and the Arabs, but we aren't even welcome at an event. They know me, I ran there, remember he ran for public office. It's my district. I canvased all over Royal Oak. [00:06:17] I guess that's how the Democratic Party deals with Muslims. They're not important to them. Maybe the Democratic Party doesn't want people like me and my kind in the party. This is like, really gross and heartbreaking stuff. It really is. But one more comment. [00:06:34] He says that there are hundreds of Muslims who saw that and they feel like they are unwelcome in this party, so why bother? It's a good point. Now, while Kamala Harris was kicking Ahmed or her campaign was kicking Ahmed out of her event. [00:06:51] Trump was actually hosting an event of his own. He was actually visiting Muslim leaders in Hamtramck, Michigan, in an effort to basically win over Arab American voters. So that juxtaposition is really important for everyone to absorb now. [00:07:08] Okay. Regardless of what you think about Donald Trump, think about the optics of this whole situation. This is not a good look for Democrats. They have lost the plot, totally lost the plot. So the city's mayor, Amir Ghalib, is a [00:07:23] muslim immigrant from Yemen who campaigned on banning pride flags from city property. He endorsed Trump in September. So the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations Care Michigan spoke out about Ganim's treatment at the event. [00:07:40] They say that as Donald Trump ramps up his outreach to the Muslim and Arab communities. The Harris campaign removes, under threat of arrest, a muslim community leader who merely responded to an invitation. This disturbing action on the part of the Harris campaign sends a dangerous message [00:07:58] of exclusion to the Muslim community. Now, Ghonim himself isn't even sure if he's going to vote for Kamala Harris. So great job, Democrats. Mission accomplished. When asked, he responded by saying, I don't know if you were kicked out of her [00:08:14] campaign, would you vote for her? And in a statement on Monday, and this is an admission of guilt. So I'm glad that this is an apology, but it is also an admission that his, you know, description of events was true. [00:08:30] The campaign was swiftly informed of yesterday's incident and looked into it. Our campaign regrets this action and its impact on Doctor Ghonim and the community, and he is welcome at future events. Wow. Thank you. We value our relationship with the Muslim American community and are [00:08:46] committed to ensuring all community and political spaces are welcoming and respectful to every American. So this was a pretty terrible foible. [00:09:02] Look, I've been critical of Harris on this issue, on the issue of Gaza, on the issue of Israel. You guys know that. But it's just been really frustrating to see Harris on multiple occasions [00:09:18] make the wrong choice when she's given an opportunity to really reach out to this, you know, this portion of the electorate that she desperately needs. And rather than consider the fact that, hey, working with them, talking to them, appealing to them is going to be a far easier path for me to win the election. [00:09:37] She has instead decided to campaign with Liz Is Cheney, okay? And try to skim off the Republican vote. Disillusioned Republicans. It's going to be far harder to persuade Republicans to vote for her, as opposed to [00:09:55] the Arab American or Muslim American vote, which historically did support her or support the Democratic Party. But because of this ongoing war in the Middle East, obviously Democrats have fallen out of favor. So even if Ahmed's ejection was a terrible misunderstanding, it's not like [00:10:13] her campaign has been, you know, really making any gains with this community. They've made a lot of other missteps. Leaders from the uncommitted movement have said that Harris repeatedly declined to meet with them and at the Democratic National Convention in August, [00:10:29] as some of you might already know, the party refused to even let Georgia state representative. A Democratic surrogates, they prevented her from being able to deliver a pre-approved speech, I mean. By the way, in the middle of the day. [00:10:45] So it wasn't going to be like some headliner on one of the nights of the Democratic National Convention. She just wanted an opportunity to speak for five minutes, and it was a speech that she was willing to provide to the campaign so they can pre-approve it [00:11:01] and be okay with it before she did speak. And that Georgia state representative was a Roman, and she was rejected by the Democratic Party. Now, if Kamala Harris fails to make change and basically distance herself from Biden's policies, there is a real chance that she will lose Michigan. [00:11:19] So in February, 101,623 Michigan voters, 13.2% of the electorate cast ballots for uncommitted in the state's Democratic presidential primary. A coalition of leftists, Arab Americans, Muslims and young voters [00:11:36] propelled by opposition to the Biden administration support for Israel amid its ongoing bombardment of Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people. Political scientist Yousef Chahoud projects that if 40% of Arab and Muslim voters abstain or vote third party, [00:11:57] the net loss for Harris could be 44,000 votes in Michigan, and that would be absolutely devastating. Now, keep in mind that Trump won Michigan before he won Michigan in 2016 by a measly 10,704 votes. [00:12:16] So right now, he is slightly ahead according to an average of polls. Take a quick look at this. So again, this is Michigan. This is based on the Real Clear Politics average of polls. And it shows Donald Trump at 48.4%, Harris at 47.2%. [00:12:37] What are you guys doing, man? Harris, has issues with Arab American voters, and it goes beyond Michigan. It's not just about Michigan. So Harris and Trump are in a virtual tie among Arab American voters nationally, [00:12:53] according to a poll that was released earlier this month by the Arab American Institute. Leaving the vice president. I'm sorry. Yeah, leaving the vice president 18 points behind. Biden's level of support back in 2020 and a newer YouGov poll actually showed [00:13:09] Trump pulling ahead of Kamala Harris among Arab Americans, though it's still in the margin of error. So why the massive shift? Well, they see how the Democratic Party has ignored their preferences or the preferences of its own members, 77% of whom believe the United States [00:13:28] should not send weapons to Israel. So you guys get the point. I think that this is one of the biggest foibles of the Democratic Party, of the Harris campaign. And I think that this is a prime example of a growing issue for the Democrats overall, [00:13:45] because as political corruption becomes more and more extreme in every election cycle, you know, Kamala Harris has raised $1 billion. You have to keep in mind the desires of the donors, the big money donors and the bundlers differ from the desires of the electorate. [00:14:04] And eventually that tension is something that the Democratic Party is not going to be able to solve. Because, yeah, you could raise the money, which, sure, you need for the political campaigning, for the ads and all of that. But if that money comes with strings attached and those are strings [00:14:22] that your voters don't like, well, all that political campaigning ain't going to mean much. And I really think that is the main reason why Democrats tend to lean into the negative anti-Trump campaigning, as opposed to giving Democratic voters [00:14:39] and swing voters independent voters, an optimistic vision for the future of the country, because that optimistic vision would require, you know, detailed economic policy plans. People like Mark Cuban don't like that. Okay, the donors don't like that. [00:14:55] And so eventually the Democrats are going to have to make a decision. You're going to have to reject some of that money, and you're going to have to actually listen to the voters if you want to get elected. Otherwise, what good is your fundraising? Thanks for watching The Young Turks. Really appreciate it. Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. [00:15:11] You'll get to interact with us more. There's live chat emojis, badges. You've got emojis of me Anna John Jr. So those are super fun. 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