Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon and Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib hosted a town hall on Saturday to celebrate President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 victory, and the new political alliance that made it possible.

“President Trump’s victory is the foundation upon which our unity of purpose is built,” Dixon posted to X with several images of the event, Dixon’s second in Hamtramck. “Thank you to Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib for your warm welcome and hospitality. It was a joy to celebrate with you. We will work together to make American and Michigan better for everyone.”

Ghalib, mayor of America’s only Muslim majority city, along with several other Arab American leaders, endorsed Trump in the 2024 contest in part due to the Biden-Harris administration’s policies in the Middle East, where Hamas’ war against Israel is now in its second year.

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While Democrats including Vice President Kamala Harris shut out the Arab American and Muslim communities calling for a ceasefire and the halt of military aid to Israel, Trump embraced those communities, meeting multiple times with leaders in Michigan to promise the pursuit of peace in his second term.

“This is a step to keep the momentum going, and to build bridges between our community and the leadership of the GOP, because after the major victory we accomplished and the important role that we played as an Arab American community and Muslim Americans, it was historic,” Ghalib told those who gathered at the Azal Hall in Hamtramck on Saturday.

“We need to discuss the next step forward, what we have to do to keep the momentum and to make sure our role that we played is valued by the GOP leadership and by the president himself,” he said.

Ghalib noted Trump repeatedly highlighted his historic endorsements from Arab American leaders during his campaign, and thanked local Trump supporters for helping the 45th and 47th POTUS win Michigan.

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Ghalib said the decision to endorse Trump went well beyond the President-elect’s openness to the concerns of Arab Americans, to a strategic vision of how the community’s values align with the two major political parties.

“What unites us is far more than what divides us,” he said, recalling meetings with Trump in Flint, Warren, Hamtramck and Grand Rapids.

“In his victory speech, for the first time in history, an American president will thank the Arab and Muslim Americans for their support,” Ghalib said.  “And for representation in his administration, I think there will be a representation that never happened in the history of any American presidents, regarding the Arab Americans and Muslim Americans.”

Ghalib described the new alliance between those communities and Republicans as “a step forward to break the wall of isolation … between us and the Republican Party and to make it the party of inclusion.

“Because there is a possibility that it can contain so many minorities, because what we share with them is so much far more than what we share with the other side,” he said.

Dixon told attendees Saturday served as “a celebration of what’s to come.”

“What comes next I believe is very good, but it does mean we work together and we work through things, because this is a new time, a new time together for us as Republicans and the Arab American community,” she said. “We’re learning, we want to work together, because at the end of the day this is about being Americans, without something before it.

“It’s about us coming together,” Dixon said. “Donald Trump’s party is a different party, it’s a party of unity. It’s a party for working people. It’s a party for families, and that’s something we haven’t seen in a really long time.”

It was all smiles from more than 100 who attended the Saturday event, titled A Night to Remember: The Dawn of a New Era, as well as many folks who commented online.

“Last night, we came together as united community to celebrate this hard-fought victory. But this was more than just a moment of triumph – it was a commitment. A commitment to maintain the momentum, to stay strong, and focusing on key areas of shared concern: public safety, educational policy, family support, and community resilience,” former Democratic candidate Khalil Othman posted to Facebook, along with several pictures of the festivities.

“The change may have started with this stunning victory, but the real transformation must happen in Lansing and within our cities. Local politics in Dearborn, Hamtramck, and metro Detroit shape our lives every day. Our hands are open. Our hearts are open. We welcome anyone ready to join this movement,” wrote Othman, who also spoke at the event. “We cannot do this alone, but together, as one united family, we will win.

“This is a dawn of a new era. Let’s keep moving forward – stronger, united, and unstoppable.”

Watch the event here: