Donald Trump has intensified his anti-Muslim attacks on Abdul El-Sayed, portraying the Michigan Senate candidate as a national security threat and questioning his loyalty to the United States.
Speaking at a rally in Port Huron, near the Canadian border, the US president called Mr El-Sayed a “jihadist” who was “on the side of the terrorists”. He also said the Democrat would “have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate”.
Mr Trump repeatedly referred to the September 11 attacks, comparing efforts to prevent Mr El-Sayed from entering the Senate chamber with the passengers who resisted hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 93.
Mr El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, would become America’s first Muslim senator if elected. He has denied any links to extremist groups and described attacks on his loyalty to the country as “shameful”.
The remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead Mr Trump’s outreach to Arab American voters during the 2024 election. The organisation has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace.
“The president’s statements are out of line,” Mr Bahbah said. “They are crossing a red line. They are racist.” He said the comments were unacceptable to Arab and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs, and warned that voters would remember them on November 3.
Trump attacks El-Sayed over alleged Muslim Brotherhood links
Republicans have sought to link Mr El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic movement whose branches have been designated as terrorist organisations by the US government. However, there is no evidence in the material presented that Mr El-Sayed has any affiliation with the group.
Republicans have pointed to social media posts made by Mr El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, in 2012. She wrote that her family had “long been MB” and described a conversation with her mother about involvement in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 1970s.
Mr El-Sayed was born in the United States to Egyptian immigrant parents, who divorced when he was young. He was raised by his father rather than his biological mother.
Mr Trump also attacked Mr El-Sayed’s association with streamer Hasan Piker, who appeared with him several times during the Democratic primary campaign. Mr Piker has previously made controversial comments about Hamas, Israel, Jewish people and the September 11 attacks.
Mr El-Sayed has faced criticism over comments of his own. He has repeatedly declined to say whether Iran or Israel poses the greater threat to the United States. Earlier this year, after an attack on a synagogue in the Detroit area, he said: “hurt people hurt people.” He later apologised, saying he had not intended to justify the attack.
At a rally in Grand Rapids later on Sunday, Mr El-Sayed dismissed Mr Trump’s repeated mockery of his name. “I don’t even care that he remembers my whole name because he can just go on and call me ‘senator’ after November,” he said. “I will be Senator Muhammad to you, bro.”
The contest between Mr El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is one of several races that could determine control of the Senate. During their final general election debate, Mr Rogers questioned Mr El-Sayed’s loyalty, asking: “Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?”
Mr El-Sayed called the question “shameful” and said he was proud of the US Constitution’s protection of the right to practise religion freely. Before Mr Trump’s rally, Mr Rogers repeated his allegation that Mr El-Sayed was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mr Trump’s intervention came as Republicans face criticism over inflation, rising fuel prices and the war with Iran. Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking at the Grand Rapids rally, accused the president and his allies of using Islamophobia because they had little to say about healthcare, housing and income inequality.
Mr Trump made significant gains among Arab American voters in Michigan in 2024, including becoming the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win Dearborn, which has one of the largest Arab American populations in the United States.
