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Archive photo · 2 June 2025Trump Escalates Anti-Muslim Attacks On Abdul El-Sayed At Michigan Rally
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Trump labels Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist and questions his loyalty. He invoked 9/11 in the remarks against El-Sayed at the rally.
Trump targets El-Sayed
President Donald Trump escalated anti-Muslim attacks against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a rally in Michigan, portraying him as a threat to national security and questioning his loyalty to the United States. Trump accused El-Sayed of being "a jihadist" and said El-Sayed would "have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate."
El-Sayed dismissed the attacks as an attempt to move attention away from the president's record, saying Trump is trying to distract from issues that matter to Americans including petrol prices and the war on Iran. El-Sayed also responded to Trump referring to him by his middle name, Mohamed, saying: "I'll be Senator Mohamed to you, bro."
Backlash and counterpunches
Critics condemned Trump's Islamophobic framing of El-Sayed, and Senator Bernie Sanders said: "The reason they are using Islamophobia against Abdul is because they have nothing to say about the real issues."
Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, condemned the remarks as crossing a line, saying: "They are crossing a red line. They are racist."
El-Sayed turned the focus to hypocrisy at a Sunday rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, saying: "He doesn't mind as much when it's the Saudis who are funding his son-in-law's private equity."
El-Sayed also mocked Trump's handling of his name and faith, telling supporters: "I don't even care that he remembers my whole name because he can just go on and call me 'senator' after November."
Race stakes in Michigan
The Michigan Senate race pits El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, and the contest is set for 3 November with the seat considered one of just a handful that could decide the balance of power in Congress. El-Sayed is taking on the campaign's central accusations about the Muslim Brotherhood, and Trump said during the rally that if El-Sayed and the Democrats prevail "they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadis to our shores."
“El-Sayed is taking on Republican candidate Mike Rogers on 3 November.”
El-Sayed and his allies framed the attacks as politically motivated, with El-Sayed saying Trump is "trying to distract from issues that matter to Americans" by accusing him of being a "jihadist." Obama campaigned for El-Sayed in Detroit and urged voters to elect him, saying: "Michigan, you and I have proved before that it’s hard to stop change when it’s time has come."