President Trump escalates anti-Muslim smear against Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at Michigan rally
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At a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, President Donald Trump vilified Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as a “Muslim Brotherhood member” and suggested he should be subjected to metal-detector screening, while backing Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
President Donald Trump used a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday to promote Republican Senate nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers and to unleash a xenophobic attack on Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and a “Muslim Brotherhood member,” and even said the candidate should be screened with a metal detector before being allowed into the Senate.
"Anyone with that record of support for jihadists would be screened and unable to get a seat on an airplane. They certainly should not give him a seat in the United States Senate," Trump said.
Trump tied the Senate race to the September 11 attacks, invoking Todd Beamer, a passenger who died on United Flight 93. He introduced speaker David Beamer, whose son was a 9/11 victim, and claimed Michigan must “stand up and fight just like Todd did to stop a jihadist from walking into the Capitol.”
Beamer echoed the comparison, casting the election as an “attack” by “local terrorists” and insisting that El-Sayed is not an American despite his birth certificate.
Both candidates were born in Michigan. El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The candidate has denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization the Trump administration has designated as a terrorist group in several countries.
Republican nominee Mike Rogers, when asked about Trump’s remarks, said the race is “me versus Abdul” and noted he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist. Rogers previously questioned El-Sayed’s mother about her work with a charity later labeled by the U.S. government as supporting terrorist groups, though no wrongdoing was alleged at the time.
Trump also referenced former President Barack Obama, who had spoken in Detroit the previous day in support of Democratic candidates, saying Obama “didn’t have a crowd like this.”