Trump Escalates Anti-Muslim Attacks on El-Sayed in Michigan; Former Arab American Ally Calls Remarks Racist

At a campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan, President Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim rhetoric against Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, portraying him as a threat to national security and questioning his loyalty to the United States. The rally was held on Sunday (25 October) at the McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center.

Trump called El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, a “jihadist” who was “on the side of the terrorists” and who would “have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate”. He repeatedly invoked the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, drawing a comparison between stopping El-Sayed from entering the Senate chamber and the passengers who fought back against the hijackers aboard United Flight 93.

At the rally Trump also attacked Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, declaring that he had come to Michigan “to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator”.

El-Sayed would become the nation's first Muslim senator if elected. He has called attacks on his loyalty to the country “shameful” and has repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups.

Trump's remarks drew a sharp rebuke from Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president's outreach to Arab American voters in 2024. In a phone interview Bahbah said: “The president's statements are out of line. They are crossing a red line. They are racist.”

Bahbah said the remarks were unacceptable to Arab and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs, adding that “no sane individual would say these things” and that people would remember them on 3 November. His organisation has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace.

Responding later on Sunday at a rally in Grand Rapids, El-Sayed told supporters that he does not care how Trump pronounces or misrepresents 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, drawing cheers.

Speaking at the Grand Rapids rally, Senator Bernie Sanders said Trump and his allies were using Islamophobia because they have “nothing to say” about the issues most important to working people, such as health care, housing and income inequality. “All they can do is foment hatred and divisiveness,” Sanders said.

El-Sayed's opponent in Michigan's Senate race is Republican Mike Rogers. The contest is among a handful that could determine control of the chamber, and the two are competing to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.

Central to Republicans' strategy against El-Sayed has been an effort to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood. There is no evidence that El-Sayed has any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. During their second and final general election debate, Rogers questioned his loyalty, asking: “Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” El-Sayed called that questioning “shameful” and said he was proud of the Constitution, which guarantees everyone the right to pray as they choose.

Speaking before Trump's appearance on Sunday, Rogers repeated the allegation on stage: “The Muslim Brotherhood celebrated exactly one victory in the United States in the primary this year — Abdul El-Sayed's.”

Port Huron is a Canadian border city about an hour north of Detroit, near communities where Trump made significant gains among Arab American voters in 2024. He became the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win Dearborn, a city with one of the nation's largest concentrations of Arab Americans. Dearborn helped Trump win Michigan in 2024 after many voters there were outraged by the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza.

Trump announced no fresh investment promise for Michigan's economy at the rally; instead he repeated investments already being made by domestic automakers. Rapper Nicki Minaj appeared on stage and urged people to vote for the state's Republican ticket.