Biden becomes first candidate to provide Arabic-language campaign material, in bid for Arab-American vote

Joe Biden has provided an official translation of campaign material into Arabic uploaded on his website.

2 min read

27 October, 2020

Biden provided an Arabic-language campaign manifesto [Getty]

Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden has become the first candidate in US history to provide an official Arabic-language translation of his campaign material, in a bid to appeal to the Arab-American electorate.

An Arabic-language document entitled "Joe Biden and the Arab-American society: A shared path" can be found on Biden's website.

"Joe Biden and Camila Harris understand that the contributions of the Arab-American community are essential in shaping the core of our nation," the document read.

It stated that a Biden-Harris leadership would value the Arab-American community and follow through on promises to support immigration and fight anti-Arab racism in the US.

Read also: US election 2020: What's at stake for Palestine?

The document also said that the Democrats would reverse the so-called Muslim Ban, enforced by President Donald Trump.

Biden also touched on other key issues for Arab-Americans such as security, business and healthcare.

Focus on the Arab-American vote has been strong among Democrats in this round of US elections, particularly in Michigan.

A recent poll has shown that Arab-American voters strongly prefer Biden over Trump.

The Arab vote

Former candidate Bernie Sanders was popular among Arab-Americans and aquired the nickname among his supporters of "Amo Bernie" - Arabic for "Uncle Bernie".

In February, Bernie took to Facebook to appeal to his Arab electorate with an Arabic-language post saying that if elected leader of the Democrats he would defeat Trump.

Impassioned Palestinian-American pro-Bernie campaigner Reema Hejazi even created a shop supporting his campaign with "Habibi Bernie" merchandise, Arabic for "Bernie, My Darling".

The 3 November election, in which incumbent Trump is fighting to secure a second term in office, is being closely watched by Arab-Americans, along with the Arab world, where the US plays a key role.

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