USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 2 June 2025Trump Escalates Anti-Muslim Rhetoric In Port Huron Rally Against Abdul El-Sayed
“Any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves,”
“Trump alleged that Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee who is locked in a dead heat with Rogers, is a ‘jihadist,’”
Photo: Daniel Torok / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Trump at Port Huron rally labeled Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist due to his Muslim faith. Trump framed El-Sayed as a national security threat and warned of jihadis entering shores.
Trump targets El-Sayed
President Donald Trump escalated anti-Muslim rhetoric at a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, attacking Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as he sought to bolster Republican nominee Mike Rogers. Trump told supporters, “Any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves,” while speaking to some 4,000 people in the city north of Detroit.
Trump also said, “If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadists to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a Christmas.” El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee, faced a race that could help determine control of the US Senate, with the contest described as key to the chamber’s balance of power.
El-Sayed fires back
Abdul El-Sayed responded to Trump’s attacks on his faith and name by joking at a rally in Grand Rapids that he would not let the president “see mine.”
El-Sayed later fired back at Trump after the president called him “Mohammed” and falsely claimed that the Michigan Democrat wants the US “to go to Sharia law.”
El-Sayed told his own rally, “I’ll be Sen. Mohammed to you, bro,” as the crowd laughed.
El-Sayed also framed Trump’s focus on his identity as a distraction from issues at stake for Michigan voters, including high prices and healthcare.
Arab and Jewish divisions
DW described Michigan’s Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers as exposing deep divisions within the state’s Arab and Jewish communities.
“Michigan's race for the US Senate between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is exposing deep divisions within the state's Arab and Jewish communities.”
DW said many Arab voters who backed Donald Trump in 2024 as a rebuke to the Biden administration’s Israel policies had reconsidered their vote and were rallying behind El-Sayed, while others backed Rogers.
The AP report carried by WLFI said Trump’s remarks in Port Huron drew a sharp rebuke from Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, who said, “The president’s statements are out of line.”
WLFI also quoted Bahbah saying, “They are crossing a red line. They are racist.”
