VIDEO: Muslim Trump Voters Reflect On Travel Ban Ahead of Elections

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In 2015, as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." Despite the tough talk throughout the campaign, roughly 17 percent of American Muslims favored a Trump victory.

So how do Muslim-Americans who voted for Trump then feel about him now, nearly two years since his administration introduced the controversial travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries?

NPR recently traveled to Detroit to find out. The city and its suburbs are home to one of the largest Muslim-American communities in the U.S., and for a state that President Trump won narrowly, Trump voters within that community cast decisive ballots. Voting blocs are rarely monolithic, and this one is no different.

Nedal Tamer, a Lebanese-American business owner, looks at his support for the president as a kind of insurance policy. Should there be an attack, he says, he doesn't want any confusion about where his loyalty rests.

In nearby Hamtramck, Mich., Akil Alhalemi is haunted by his vote for Trump. Years ago, he emigrated from Yemen, one of the countries named in the ban. Now, he's registering new voters ahead of the midterms.

Politics is Personal is a three-part video project that explores how some of the biggest stories from President Trump's first years in office have affected voters — who will decide whether to reward or reject the president and his party in the midterm elections.

You can watch part 1 here.

You can watch part 2 here.

Hear Morning Edition's story by clicking the audio button above.

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