President Donald Trump escalated attacks against Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a campaign rally in Port Huron on Sunday, using inflammatory language and religious references. Trump characterized El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, as a “jihadist” and suggested he posed a national security threat, comparing efforts to prevent him from entering the Senate to passengers who resisted hijackers on United Flight 93. Trump also invoked the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks during his remarks and attacked Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
El-Sayed, who would be the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected, has denied attacks on his patriotism and rejected claims of ties to extremist organizations. The candidate responded at a Grand Rapids rally later that day, expressing confidence he would win the election. Bishara Bahbah, founder of Arab Americans for Trump, publicly criticized the president’s statements as crossing acceptable boundaries and described them as racist. Bahbah noted that such rhetoric would likely alienate the Arab American voters Trump had courted in previous elections.
Republican campaign strategy against El-Sayed has centered on attempting to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic organization with designated terrorist branches. No evidence of such affiliation has been presented. Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers has similarly questioned El-Sayed’s loyalty to the United States during campaign debates. El-Sayed has faced separate criticism for past statements regarding the Gaza conflict and his reluctance to answer questions about Iran and Israel.
Michigan’s Senate race between El-Sayed and Rogers is considered competitive and could influence control of the chamber. The contest comes as Trump has increasingly incorporated anti-Muslim rhetoric into his campaign messaging. Trump previously won Dearborn in 2024, marking the first Republican presidential victory there since 2000, despite the city having one of the nation’s largest Arab American populations. Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking at El-Sayed’s Grand Rapids rally, characterized Trump’s approach as using religious divisiveness to distract from economic issues.
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