Did Trump's Pakistan pivot cost him support in the US midterms?

Did Trump's Pakistan pivot cost him support in the US midterms?

Submitted by Ali Jaswal on Sun, 11/15/2026 - 11:01 Pakistani Americans who backed Trump in 2024 say they switched to the Democrats after the US president abandoned Imran Khan and embraced Pakistan’s military leadership Supporters celebrate at a midterm election night watch party for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit on 4 November 2026 (Salwan Georges/Getty Images via AFP) Off

Several Pakistani Americans who helped Donald Trump return to the White House in 2024 have told Middle East Eye that the diaspora community turned against him in last week's midterm elections after the US president "abandoned" his promise to secure the release of Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

They said their disillusionment deepened as Trump cultivated a close relationship with Pakistan's powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, whom he has repeatedly called his "favourite field marshal".

While the US does not release official demographic breakdowns of voting patterns, an estimated 680,000 people of Pakistani origin lived in the country in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center. 

Although they represent a relatively small share of the electorate, concentrated communities in politically competitive states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania give them potentially significant influence.

Syed Ali, a corporate finance professional living in Virginia's Eighth Congressional District, told MEE that he threw his support behind Democratic candidates and "voted for anybody that was non-Republican".

Ali, who voted for Republican candidates in 2024, said that before Trump entered office, there was a feeling of hope that the US president "was going to do something to restore democracy in Pakistan and [call] for the release of Imran Khan".

He suggested that the US deliberately supported the imprisonment of Khan, as this helped them get rid of a prominent voice on Palestine and Iran.

"Khan would have created a ruckus with whatever was happening with the genocide, and of course he would have played a key role in the Iran war. He was the loudest voice for Palestine, so purposely he was kept in jail," Ali added.

Khan's imprisonment has become a rallying point for much of the Pakistani diaspora in the US.

The former prime minister had accused the Biden administration of orchestrating a "regime change operation" against his government in 2022, in collusion with Pakistan's military and opposition parties. 

'The reason I voted for Trump was because of him, and the reason I voted for Democrats is because of him'

- Naveen Sheikh, Virginia resident

The Biden administration's subsequent support for Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif drove many in the diaspora towards Trump and Republicans in 2024.

But that support has since unravelled.

Major Pakistani American organisations, including the Pakistani-American Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC USA), First Pakistan Global (FPG) and the Community Alliance for Peace and Justice (CAPJ), backed Democratic candidates in the midterms through public events, advocacy and fundraising. 

Nearly all had previously rallied behind Trump.

The shift has been fuelled by military operations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, deteriorating human rights conditions in Pakistan, military interventions in Afghanistan as well as Khan's prolonged imprisonment.

"The reason I voted for Trump was because of him, and the reason I voted for Democrats is because of him, and also the two unwanted wars and the rise in oil prices," Naveen Sheikh, a management professional in Virginia's 11th Congressional District, told MEE.

Sheikh voted for Democratic candidate James Walkinshaw but did not vote for Senator-elect Mark Warner.

"Because we have been approaching him about Imran Khan, and we have had high-level meetings, but no outcome. He was like, whatever," she added.

Trump's 'favourite field marshal'

After Trump's 2024 election victory, prominent figures in his political circle, including special envoy Richard Grenell and Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, publicly voiced support for Khan's release and criticised Munir, Pakistan's army chief.

But relations shifted following last year's confrontation between India and Pakistan, when Munir forged a close relationship with Trump, including a visit to the White House. 

For many Pakistani Americans, the relationship came to symbolise the administration's abandonment of its earlier promises.

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"Bills like Pakistan Democracy Act that was introduced by Joe Wilson last year, who is a staunch national security Republican, turned out a tactic to pressure the Pakistani regime to do exactly what Trump wanted them to do," Mehlaqa Samdhani, a founding member of CAPJ, told MEE.

"So people just felt quite disillusioned and betrayed by Republicans."

Introduced in early 2025, the proposed legislation called for sanctions against members of Pakistan's leadership, including Munir, over human rights violations and Khan's imprisonment. The relevant House committees never considered it.

Republicans on the House Committee on Rules also voted in September last year to block two proposed amendments to the National Defence Authorization Act that sought to make US military assistance to Pakistan conditional on human rights improvements. Democrats backed the measures.

Pakistani American organisations subsequently began engaging more actively with Democratic candidates, seeking commitments on future US policy towards Islamabad.

'Pakistan policy is mainly formulated by US Central Command and the Central Intelligence Agency, and to some extent by the State Department. It is not easy to turn it around overnight'

- Zoobia Chaudhry, First Pakistan Global

Some also began calling for congressional investigations into alleged corrupt dealings involving Pakistan's military leadership, Trump's family and close associates - particularly over mineral and cryptocurrency agreements.

But activists acknowledge that changing Washington's Pakistan policy will not be straightforward.

"Pakistan policy is mainly formulated by US Central Command and the Central Intelligence Agency, and to some extent by the State Department,"  Zoobia Chaudhry, a physician and communications director at FPG, told MEE.

"It is not easy to turn it around overnight."

She said the organisation's immediate priority would be to push for "investigations and sanctions in the new Congress" against Munir and other senior figures in Pakistan's leadership.

Backlash beyond the Pakistani diaspora

The backlash has also crossed ideological lines within the Pakistani American community.

Some conservative Muslims who had voted Republican for decades because of shared social values chose Democrats despite their opposition to progressive policies, particularly those concerning LGBTQ+ and transgender issues in schools and public life. 

Trump's campaign rhetoric targeting Muslims further deepened their disillusionment.

"The bottom line is they will continue voting with the left because of the massive bigotry, xenophobia and Islamophobia from the right," Junaid Khan, president of PAKPAC's DC, Maryland and Virginia chapter, told MEE.

"I don't see this community coming back to the GOP anytime soon. It's an attack on identity. It went too far."

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Junaid, a Republican whose political journey was inspired by Khan's struggle for democracy and the rule of law, is now considering joining the Democratic Party.

PAKPAC, one of the largest political action committees representing Pakistani Americans, endorsed several Democratic candidates, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and James Talarico in Texas, but none of the Republicans. Its support for Trump in 2024 had surprised many.

The discontent has also extended beyond Pakistani Americans, with Trump's approach to Khan and Pakistan's military leadership drawing criticism among other South Asian and Muslim communities in the US.

Hussain Nadim, a former research fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and the Wilson Center, said the communities were interconnected rather than politically isolated.

He noted that one of the largest protests for Khan in Silicon Valley had been organised by Indians, for whom the former prime minister is also a cricketing hero.

They were also angered by Trump's apparent endorsement of Pakistan's military leadership and what they saw as his willingness to undermine democracy in a developing country.

"So this issue added to a broader wave within these communities who felt betrayed by the Trump administration," Nadim said.

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