At a campaign event in Iowa on Sunday, President Donald Trump directed sharp criticism at Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate seeking a US Senate seat from Michigan in the upcoming midterm elections. Trump employed inflammatory language in reference to El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim, calling him a “jihadist” and making comments critics would characterize as religiously discriminatory.
The Michigan Senate race has emerged as highly competitive and nationally significant in determining which party will control the chamber after Tuesday’s midterm elections. The contest has been marked by internal Democratic divisions. Hayley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the August primary, declined to campaign alongside him and demanded he disavow an outside political advertisement that drew a connection between inflation and US military assistance to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Following disagreement over these issues, El-Sayed asked Stevens to stay away from a joint campaign appearance scheduled for Sunday. In response, Stevens announced her endorsement of Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee opposing El-Sayed. Her decision to switch her support drew criticism from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish.
Trump praised Stevens for her shift in allegiance and suggested she might consider joining the Republican Party. The president also characterized Rogers in favorable terms, describing him metaphorically as representing traditional American values and contrasting him with what Trump described as unwanted political movements. Trump additionally noted the demands on his schedule, stating that his attendance at multiple rallies had left him little leisure time and asserting that his political influence in the race was substantial enough that supporters should treat his participation as equivalent to his being on the ballot itself.
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