Trump appoints anti-Israel mayor as US ambassador to Kuwait

U.S. President Donald Trump has selected the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, Amer Ghalib, as the next U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. Notably, Ghalib supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“I am pleased to announce that Amer Ghalib will be the next United States Ambassador to Kuwait,” Trump announced on Truth Social. “As the Mayor of the City of Hamtramck, Michigan, Amer worked hard to help us secure a historic victory in Michigan.”

“I know he will make our country proud in this new role. Congratulations, Amer!” Trump’s announcement concluded.

Responding to the announcement, Ghalib wrote, “President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles. I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences.”

Ghalib, a Muslim immigrant from Yemen, was elected mayor of the majority-Muslim city of Hamtramck in 2021.

During the 2024 U.S. presidential race, Ghalib made headlines for his endorsement of Trump, despite their significant differences.

Though aligned with Trump on social issues, such as transgenderism and the Black Lives Matter movement, Ghalib has repeatedly been vocal about his anti-Israel views.

Last May, under Ghalib’s leadership, Hamtramck passed a resolution promising that the city “shall make all best efforts to refrain investment in the State of Israel and all Israeli and international companies that sustain Israeli apartheid.”

The resolution further claimed that “Palestinians are currently subjected to the Israeli campaign of genocide and starvation, plus the mass erasure of all means of human survival in Gaza.”

“Our government, of course, does not listen to the concern of the people,” Ghalib stated at the time, after noting that a majority of Americans had come to disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“It seems like we are ruled by a minority in this country, and that’s a problem,” Ghalib continued. “The voice of the people is not being heard.”

According to a report from Ynet News, Ghalib has recognized the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as a “martyr,” and has “dismissed reports of Hamas militants beheading and sexually assaulting victims on Oct. 7 as ‘lies spread by the Biden administration to justify its support for Israel’s crimes.’”