Tiffany Trump's husband Michael Boulos helps father-in-law Donald Trump court Arab-Americans
OAKLAND HILLS, MICHIGAN: Michael Boulos, the husband of Tiffany Trump, and his billionaire Lebanese father, Massad Boulos, are leveraging their Middle Eastern backgrounds to court Arab-American voters for former President Donald Trump.
This comes as the voting bloc expresses increasing dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday night, May 21, the Boulos duo, along with former Trump ambassador Ric Grenell, addressed Arab-American activists in Michigan, making a compelling case for Trump’s return to the White House.
Meeting highlights and Boulos family background
The intimate gathering, which took place in Oakland Hills, Michigan, was attended by approximately 40 Arab-American activists from diverse backgrounds.
Sam Asaad Hanna, a Syrian American activist from Texas, described the two-and-a-half-hour meeting as a call for unity and a focus on the upcoming election. “They talked about the election and the need for unity,” Hanna told the Daily Mail. “The focus was on their backgrounds from the Middle East.”
Attendees expressed a strong desire for more such engagements, and Michael Boulos indicated his willingness to participate in future events. Plans are already underway for additional meetings in other key battleground states.
The Boulos family, while Lebanese, has deep international ties. Michael Boulos was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, where his father, Massad Boulos, oversees extensive business operations.
Boulos Enterprises and SCOA Nigeria, the family's multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, operate in sectors including vehicles, equipment, retail, and construction.
Massad Boulos has also dabbled in politics, having run for parliamentary elections in Nigeria in 2018 before withdrawing his nomination. Despite their business focus in Africa, the Boulos family remains fervent supporters of Donald Trump.
After Michael and Tiffany Trump’s engagement in 2021, Massad Boulos lauded Trump as “the best president in recent US history; and the one with the biggest achievements by far.”
Donald Trump’s campaign strategy and Arab-American support
Michael Boulos and Tiffany Trump have increased their political involvement, with Michael serving as a delegate from Florida to the Republican National Committee meeting in July. Tiffany, who has actively supported Trump’s campaigns, resides in Miami with Michael, close to other Trump family members.
Biden’s support among Arab-American voters has waned, primarily due to his pro-Israel stance amid Middle Eastern conflicts. This shift in sentiment is significant in battleground states like Michigan.
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll revealed Trump leading Biden 57%-25% among Arab and Muslim voters in five key states, a dramatic reversal from the 2020 election.
In Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary, over 100,000 voters cast “uncommitted” ballots, many of them Arab-Americans, reflecting their disenchantment with Biden’s policies.
The private dinner on Tuesday, organized by Grenell and Syrian American physician Yahya Basha, aimed to consolidate Arab-American support for Trump. Although Grenell is not officially part of Trump’s campaign, he is considered a potential candidate for a top national security position should Trump win.
Despite some dissatisfaction with Grenell’s understanding of Middle Eastern issues, as expressed by an anonymous attendee, the meeting emphasized the failures of Biden’s Middle East policies.
“The campaign has and will continue to communicate to those voters and remind them that President Trump's policies in the Middle East brought that region historic levels of peace and stability,” campaign spokesman Brian Hughes stated.
Donald Trump’s middle east legacy and the ‘Abandon Biden’ movement
As president, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, leading to normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, including the UAE and Bahrain in 2020. This achievement is highlighted by Trump’s supporters as a significant stride toward Middle Eastern peace.
However, some attendees voiced concerns about the depth of Grenell’s understanding of the region. “Frankly, the guy — I don't want to say bad stuff — is clueless on the Middle East,” one participant remarked.
The growing ‘Abandon Biden’ movement, spearheaded by Arab Americans, is strategically targeting battleground states such as Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and Florida.
Hanna noted that Tuesday’s meeting included Arab-Americans from various political leanings, all united by a desire for change. “We need to see something different from what we saw in 2020,” he insisted. “I liked the unity in the room and the listening to each other and opening bridges with the potential next administration.”
Michael Boulos and Tiffany Trump’s relationship began in 2018 and culminated in their engagement in January 2021, marked by a proposal in the White House Rose Garden with a 13-carat diamond ring worth $1.2 million. They married on November 12, 2022, at Mar-a-Lago, in a ceremony attended by 250 guests.
The couple met in Mykonos in 2018, while Tiffany was studying law at Georgetown Law and Michael was pursuing project management studies at City, University of London, per the Daily Mail.
