Trump stages Iowa rally, amplifies culture-war attacks, and hypes Haley Stevens' break with Democrats
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At a rally in Iowa, President Trump celebrated former Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens for backing Republican Mike Rogers, while lashing out at Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed with a “jihadist” slur and predicting a sweeping Republican midterm win.
President Donald Trump addressed a crowd in Iowa, praising former Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens for supporting Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan. He said, "I don’t know Haley, I’ve never met Haley, but Haley said what few people are willing to say," and suggested she might even join the Republican Party.
Trump then pivoted to the Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, branding him a “jihadist” and implying that voters might need to put him through metal detectors. El-Sayed responded that he would agree to a metal detector if Trump would submit to a lie detector test.
The president also warned, without evidence, that a Democratic win in Congress could trigger a “1929-style economic depression,” and repeated his promise to give every adult American $5,000 if Republicans won both chambers. He ended by urging supporters to vote and predicting a “tremendous victory” on Election Day.
The rally was one of Trump’s final campaign stops before the 2026 midterm elections, part of an aggressive push to strengthen Republican candidates in key Senate races.