US election podcast: Iranian-Americans who feel betrayed by Democratic party

Nikki Namdar is a left-leaning, liberal activist, who believes in a woman’s right to choose. She’s also Iranian- American and Jewish but in 2024 she’s voting for Donald Trump.

Shahin Milani is also an Iranian-American and traditionally voted Democrat but this year he’s not voting at all, saying he’s disappointed in both candidates.

In a special election interview on Eye for Iran, with Iran International, both Milani and Namdar—despite their differing views—agree on one thing: disappointment with the Biden-Harris administration’s policies on Iran.

Milani said he would have voted Democrat had they taken a tougher stance on the Islamic Republic. He cited a lack of creativity of going beyond the Iran Nuclear Deal and gave examples where he felt the current administration downplayed human rights abuses in Iran.

But when it comes to Trump, he said he just can’t vote for him.

“Voting for Donald Trump was also not an option because he did not accept the results of the last election and for me the peaceful transfer of power is the most important thing. It's the bedrock of Western liberal democracy,” said Milani.

He said he doesn’t feel like either party belongs to him, describing himself as being politically homeless.

Not voting, he believes is his only course of action.

Namdar made a shift away from the Democrats, and once a never-Trumper, she has now turned into one of an advocate of the former US president. For her, it was a grieving process to get her to that point.

“I've been historically anti-Trump,” said Namdar.

But the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel changed everything for her.

She lost friends over disagreements after the attacks and what she described as a lack of sympathy from her friends.

“I don't agree with Trump on everything, but the fact that the biggest issue here is the Islamic Republic of Iran. That's the most important thing.”

In 2024, she's a single-issue voter, focused squarely on the traditional Republican “maximum pressure” approach to Iran versus what she sees as the Democrats' policy of appeasement.

The US intelligence community warned on Monday that American adversaries like Iran are intensifying disinformation efforts around the elections by promoting false narratives. In the summer, US authorities announced that Iran was funneling money to influence anti-Israel college campus protests. That for Namdar and experiencing antisemitism was a redline.

While the Iranian vote is not going to make a difference in the outcome of the US elections, this year’s candidates had a huge impact on the Iranian-American electorate and has been life changing for some like Namdar and Milani.

For more on the discussion, you can watch the full interview on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple, Castbox, or Amazon.