Arab-American and Latinx voters are facing racism online over Trump’s election victory

The 2024 US election results have left Democratic party supporters in the US looking for someone to blame and of course, Arabs, Latinxs (a gender-neutral term to refer to men and women of Latin American heritage) and immigrants are easy targets. Kamala Harris’ loss — and Donald Trump’s victory — led to a storm of anger, blame, and xenophobia aimed largely at minorities and immigrant communities on social media.

These groups are being accused of ‘gifting’ Trump the presidency by not voting for Harris, and as a result, are being subjected to heated, often vitriolic reactions. From calls for mass deportation to wishes that minorities lose their citizenship, the comments have crossed into racist and Islamophobic territory.

“I hope every f****** Muslim who voted Trump gets to watch Bibi turn Gaza into a glass parking lot,” one X user wrote.

Others echoed similar sentiments, directing hate toward Muslim and Arab communities in Michigan, where Trump won a surprising portion of the vote in the traditionally Democratic Dearborn. Another comment added, “I hope they are all deported. And I can’t wait until Netanyahu gets the green light to turn Gaza into a parking lot.”

“Netanyahu bombs and obliterates a school in Gaza. He did this because we just elected Trump, who told him ‘finish it off’ — and this is what he meant. To the Arab voters in Michigan who voted for Trump — this is on YOU,” Cheri Jacobus, a political strategist, pundit and writer, tweeted.

Many in her replies rightly took jabs at her for “being asleep for a year” given Netanyahu has been bombing schools in Gaza since way before the elections.

But the hate kept coming. “Arabs think Trump will save Gazzans, well he will pour more gasoline to ignite ongoing genocide,” a user wrote. “And now they deserve what’s coming to them. No pity from me this time. I’II pack their bags myself,” another commented.

Some reactions were outright vicious, such as: “I HOPE HE DEPORTS THEM ALL TO THE GULFS (Arab and Muslim Trump voters) coming from one.” Another user piled on, “I hope they all get deported” in response to black immigrants voting for the Republican candidate. The racist rhetoric continued to rear its head in tweets such as, “F*** Latinos and Arabs. There. I said it. Hope you all get deported and banned.”

“Trump promised religious extremism and white supremacy and American Arabs flocked to him like a fly to s*** like their white counterparts,” wrote one user.

What happened?

Trump gained massive support in communities of colour — including a 5.5-point shift in majority-Black counties and a 6.8-point increase in Latino-majority counties. Particularly in Dearborn, where Harris secured only 36.26 per cent of the vote compared to Trump’s 42.48pc.

A significant share of voters—18.37pc—opted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who campaigned on ending US support for Israeli military actions in Gaza. In contrast, Harris maintained a staunchly pro-Israel stance, alienating Muslim voters.

A major factor behind Harris’ loss in places like Dearborn was her foreign policy, including her wavering support of Israel. Her refusal to acknowledge growing frustrations within the Democratic base over US support for Israel’s actions in Gaza left many Muslim voters disillusioned.

During her campaign, Harris’s dismissive approach toward pro-Palestinian demonstrators who interrupted her rallies only heightened this frustration.

The political-frustration-turned-racism has raised questions about the way immigrants and minorities are viewed in the US. That these communities are being demonised not only for casting their ballots for the candidate of their choice but for ‘betraying’ the Democratic Party is a reflection of a deeper issue within the party. But rather than introspect on their candidate’s own failings, Democratic supporters are choosing to lay the blame squarely on people of colour who didn’t align with Harris’ policies.