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Donald Trump and Mayor Amer Ghalib during the 2024 campaign.
Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, who backed Donald Trump for president in 2024, has received a big reward.
Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday that Ghalib has been named ambassador to Kuwait.
"I am pleased to announce that Amer Ghalib will be the next United States Ambassador to Kuwait," Trump wrote. "As the Mayor of the City of Hamtramck, Michigan, Amer worked hard to help us secure a historic victory in Michigan.
"Amer earned his M.D. from the Ross University School of Medicine and continues to serve his community as a proud healthcare professional. I know he will make our country proud in this new role. Congratulations, Amer!"
Ghalib, who is from Yemen, faced some criticism last month after Trump announced that he wanted to evict the Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
"I made it clear from day one that President Trump and I have some differences, and we do not agree on everything," Ghalib posted on Facebook last month. "This was the first sentence of my endorsement, and he posted it on his Truth Social page."
"Yes, I disagree with the president on the idea of evacuating the indigenous people of Gaza from their homeland, but this idea was on the table during the 15-month war. Now, it’s still there but minus the war, which Biden failed to stop, but President Trump did stop and delivered his promise of a ceasefire."
The mayor concluded:
"Therefore, I disagree with the president on this one, but I still support him for many other reasons, and I don’t regret supporting him in the election."
Ghalib was elected as a Democrat but in time seemed to align more closely with Republicans on socially conservative issues.
In 2023, he backed a controversial resolution that banned the display of Gay Pride flags on city property. As a result, he faced backlash from progressives, including Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. At the same time, he was embraced by conservatives like Republican Michael Flynn, who worked in both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Then last year, during the presidential campaign, he took it to a new level, endorsing Donald Trump—the same candidate who backed a Muslim travel ban in his first term.
