Arab-American PAC on its refusal to endorse Kamala Harris: 'We don't have a seat around the table'

Osama Siblani, the publisher of The Arab-American News and co-founder of the Arab-American Political Action Committee (PAC), discussed why the group was refusing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, suggesting there would be no difference between her and former President Trump. 

Asked by CNN's John Berman whether he believed there would be a "difference" between a Trump presidency and a Harris presidency, Siblani said, "as far as foreign policy, I think both of them are the same."

"We‘ve interviewed Kamala Harris, we‘ve interviewed people from this campaign, and they said we will have a seat around the table. We don’t have a seat around the table. We don’t have a seat in the room. We don’t have a seat in the building, in the neighborhood, in the city, in the country," Siblani said.

The Biden administration has faced mounting backlash over his support for Israel amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. Others have also warned that Harris' support among Arab Americans and Muslims was "tenuous."

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CNN's John Berman spoke to Arab-American PAC co-founder Osama Siblani on Wednesday about his group's refusal to endorse Kamala Harris. (Screenshot/CNN)

Siblani explained his community supported President Biden in 2020 and continued to support his administration, but added that they voted for him because he was not Trump.

"We voted for him because we were voting against Donald Trump. Now are we going to vote for him again, which is his vice president, also against Donald Trump? It doesn‘t work this way," he said. 

Siblani's PAC and news outlet is based in Dearborn, Michigan, which is home to a large Arab-American community.

Some prominent Democrats in the state have questioned Harris' standing, as polls show the race between her and Trump is neck-and-neck. 

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service at Koinonia Christian Center in Greenville, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Democratic Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin sounded the alarm on Harris' numbers in the state while speaking to a group of donors.

"We have her underwater in our polling," Slotkin added, according to audio Axios obtained from the event. 

Siblani criticized Trump during the interview as well, but said the Harris campaign was also ignoring their needs. 

"We have been trying to reach out. They have reached out, and we’ve been talking to the campaign for the last probably four or five months, and before for the same campaign, actually, with President Joe Biden. And we did not see anything that brings to our attention the interests of our community and what’s happening overseas," he said. "What are we going to vote for? Who are we going to vote for? The two main candidates have been ignoring our needs and therefore, we have decided to ignore them, not to vote for them," he said.

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The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.