LANSING, Mich, Nov 18, (AP): Just a week after winning a majority of the vote in several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters. Meanwhile, the two Trump advisers who led his outreach to Arab Americans have not secured positions in the administration yet.

The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and Muslims in Michigan, which went for Trump along with all six other battleground states. Some noted Trump’s longstanding support for Israel and said their vote against Vice President Kamala Harris was not necessarily an endorsement of him. Others who openly supported him say he will be the final decisionmaker on policy and hope he will keep his promise of achieving an end to the conflicts in the Middle East.

Albert Abbas, a Lebanese American leader whose brother owns the Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant Trump visited in the campaign's final days, stood beside the former president during that visit and spoke in support of him. Now, Abbas says it’s "too early” to judge Trump and that "we all need to take a deep breath, take a step back and let him do the work that he needs to do to to achieve this peace.” "I just want you to think about what the alternative was,” said Abbas, referring to the current administration’s handling of Israel's war in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon.

He added, "What did you expect from myself or many members of the community to do?” Beyond promising peace in the Middle East, Trump has offered few concrete details on how he plans to achieve it. His transition team did not respond to a request for comment. Throughout the campaign, his surrogates often focused more on criticizing Harris than outlining his agenda. 

 Amin Hashmi, a Pakistani American in Michigan who voted for Trump, urged him to stay true to his campaign commitments to bring peace. "I am disappointed but not surprised," said Hashmi, who urged Trump to "keep the promise you made to the people of Arab descent in Michigan.”