PHOENIX — A recent rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona, spotlighted a minor gaffe by Donald Trump that caught the audience’s attention. During his speech, Trump mistakenly referred to a small group of Assyrians as “Asur-Asians.” This group was prominently seated behind him wearing red shirts that read “Assyrians for Trump,” which served to highlight their support for his campaign in a packed arena located about 90 minutes north of Phoenix.
The Assyrians are a Christian indigenous group with roots in ancient Mesopotamia, now part of modern-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Though they represent a small minority in the United States, they have established significant populations in key swing states like Michigan and Arizona, both of which will play a crucial role in the upcoming Nov. 5 election. This demographic reality could enable the Assyrian community to wield a meaningful influence in an election that is currently too close to call in public opinion polls.
In response to the mispronunciation, Sam Darmo, a Phoenix real estate agent and one of the co-founders of Assyrians for Trump, expressed gratitude, stating, “Thank you, President Trump, for making a mistake in our name,” noting that it brought more awareness to the Assyrian identity in the United States. He emphasized that more Americans are now familiar with who the Assyrians are than they were prior to Trump’s rally.
Amidst their cultural significance, many Assyrians have fled ongoing persecution and genocide. This has included recent violence enacted by the Islamic State group that has led to the destruction or theft of ancient relics stemming from their heritage. Recent U.S. Census Bureau data from 2022 indicates that roughly 95,000 individuals in the U.S. identify as Assyrian, Chaldean, or Syriac, with the largest population—around 38,000—in Michigan, followed by about 5,000 in Arizona. The remaining five crucial swing states have fewer than 500 Assyrians each.
The Assyrian community has been engaged in various advocacy efforts worldwide aimed at securing recognition for historical atrocities, such as the 1915 deportations and massacres carried out by the Ottoman Turks. They seek acknowledgment of these events as genocide, a claim that is widely accepted by historians but is strongly contested by Turkey, which disputes the classification of these events as genocide and argues that the figures have been exaggerated.
In a recent interview, Trump addressed the earlier mispronunciation and engaged with the Assyrian identity. He explained that he met some Assyrians at the rally who had asked for a shout-out and reflected on how he learned about their heritage. Darmo corroborated this account, noting that he had personally made the request while posing for photos with Trump before the event. He pointed out that the recognition serves to inform Americans about the suffering and challenges faced by the Assyrian people.
Eric Trump had previously made efforts to engage with the Assyrian community in Phoenix ahead of the 2020 election. Mona Oshana, an Iraqi-born Assyrian American and co-founder of Assyrians for Trump, observed that the Republican Party aligns well with the values of a religious population that has escaped oppression. She remarked, “We are an America First community because we came to America based on the echo of freedom and the Constitution.”
On the other end of the political spectrum, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris also has a grassroots initiative targeting the Assyrian and Chaldean communities, active especially in Michigan.
Nevertheless, Trump’s immigration policies drew some backlash within the Assyrian community. Many were affected by restrictions on refugee resettlement and a travel ban targeting certain Muslim-majority countries, which included prominent Assyrian populations. A notable incident that marked a low point for many Assyrians was the 2019 deportation and subsequent death of a 41-year-old Chaldean man in Baghdad. Having lived in the U.S. since childhood, Jimmy Al-Daoud struggled with health issues and had been deported due to past criminal offenses.