Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim rhetoric against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday, portraying him as a threat to national security.<\/p>\n
The president also questioned his loyalty to the United States in remarks that drew a sharp rebuke from a former top Arab American ally. Trump called El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, a \u201cjihadist\u201d who was \u201con the side of the terrorists\u201d and would \u201chave to go through a metal detector before he\u2019s allowed to go into the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also repeatedly invoked 9\/11, 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, AP reported.<\/p>\n
El-Sayed, who would become the nation\u2019s first Muslim senator if elected, has called attacks on his loyalty to the country \u201cshameful\u201d and repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups.<\/p>\n
The Republican president\u2019s remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president\u2019s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024. \u201cThe president\u2019s statements are out of line,\u201d he said in a phone interview. \u201cThey are crossing a red line. They are racist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also reiterated his apparent love for buxom bums and encouraged the crowd to compliment rapper Nicki Minaj\u2019s behind. The comments about Minaj\u2019s derriere came as he explained his recent observation on the Republican Ohio senator Jon Husted\u2019s rear end.<\/p>\n
Earlier in October, Trump said of the former college football player: \u201cI don\u2019t do this with men very often. I started examining his body, because I didn\u2019t know he was a great athlete. And I looked and I watched up and down. I looked at his ass and I looked at the whole \u2013 and then I looked at his hands. Look at his hands. He\u2019s got these, like, claws.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are a great athlete,\u201d Trump also said to Husted. \u201cCongratulations.\u201d Trump was speaking at the rally to support Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican Senate candidate.<\/p>\n
Read our full report here:<\/p>\n
In other developments:<\/p>\n
Mary Peltola<\/a>, a Democrat who is running for Alaska<\/a>\u2019s lone US Senate seat, and her family suffered minor injuries in a car crash while driving to a campaign stop on Saturday, her campaign said. The family was on its way to the Alaska<\/a> Federation of Natives annual banquet when another vehicle crashed into the one transporting Peltola and her family, her campaign said in a statement on Sunday. Peltola required medical attention after the collision.<\/p>\n Todd Blanche, Donald Trump\u2019s attorney general, lashed out during an interview on Sunday while defending the justice department\u2019s pre-emptive lawsuit to block certification of Alaska\u2019s US Senate results if the GOP incumbent loses, calling a TV host\u2019s question \u201ccrazy\u201d. The testy repartee unfolded on CNN\u2019s State of the Union over the DoJ\u2019s unprecedented legal action, which alleges that there could be \u201cvoter confusion\u201d due to two candidates named Dan Sullivan on Alaska\u2019s ballot. Trump told reporters, \u201cI\u2019m the one that said do it\u201d when asked about the suit.<\/p>\n The US military has given<\/a> Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX access to restricted space tracking data, raising a new round of questions<\/a> about whether the Trump administration is attempting to hand over traffic control in Earth\u2019s orbit to a controversial donor. The access also raises new national security questions, industry observers say.<\/p>\n Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) has decreased significantly over the past year in the US following restrictions imposed by the Trump administration<\/a>, which has forced more people to seek help from food banks or go hungry, stakeholders say. The number of people who receive food stamps has dropped from 41.6 million in July 2025, before the One Big Beautiful Act took effect, to 36.5 million in June 2026, a 13% decrease, according to the latest data from the US Department of Agriculture<\/a>, which administers the program.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/a> will still be US president on the morning of 4 November. But he could be facing a very different political landscape, depending on the results of the US midterm elections held the previous day.<\/p>\n As the name implies, midterm elections fall nearly halfway through a president\u2019s term. They are often a telling referendum<\/a> on the sitting president\u2019s performance, something Trump is actively encouraging by telling voters \u201cpretend I\u2019m on the ballot\u201d. In this case, voters will decide whether Trump\u2019s Republican party can retain its grip on Congress.<\/p>\n Democrats are hoping to capitalise on growing discontent with Trump<\/a> to seize control of the US House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate. Republicans are fighting to preserve their congressional majorities and prevent a fresh period of legislative paralysis and investigations into the White House.<\/p>\n To understand what the midterms are and why they matter, read our full explainer:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lula’s victory in Brazil hinders Trump’s ambitions in Latin America<\/p>\n Brazilian president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u2019s overnight reelection victory \u2013\u00a0a stunning reversal after he trailed in the previous round of voting against right-wing candidate Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro \u2013\u00a0represents a blow to President Trump\u2019s political ambitions in Latin America.<\/p>\n Lula, who secured a fourth non-consecutive term in office, had campaigned on protecting Brazil\u2019s sovereignty in the face of alleged US coercion and colonialism, and had accused the US of seeking to meddle in the country\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n And while Trump did not outright support the defeated candidate, Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, he is the son of one of Trump\u2019s former close allies in the region, ousted Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. The older Bolsonaro is currently serving a prison sentence for attempting to overturn the results of his 2022 election defeat to Lula. Those criminal proceedings prompted Trump to at one point slap steep tariffs on Brazil, deepening the divide between Trump and the Brazilian leader.<\/p>\n Trump has yet to publicly weigh in on Lula\u2019s victory. But Trump\u2019s son, Donald Trump<\/a> Jr., took to social media to criticize a decision to extend voting in Brazil for two hours.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a conservative government in Brazil did this, everyone in the mainstream press in America would lose their minds,\u201d Trump Jr. wrote.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.40 EDT<\/p>\n Anthropic\u2019s Claude AI model accessed Georgia voter data in US Anthropic\u2019s Claude model accessed voter data in the US state of Georgia, the AI company has confirmed, in the latest example of unauthorised behaviour by the technology.<\/p>\n The AI model managed to bypass a paywall to reach data that is publicly available but is typically accessible only after paying a fee. Claude accessed aggregate vote counts as part of a statistics project at Anthropic, which is preparing for a $1.5tn (\u00a31.1tn) flotation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cClaude did not access the state\u2019s voter registration system, change any voting records, or pull any individual voter records,\u201d Anthropic said, adding that it has since taken steps to block similar actions.<\/p>\n Anthropic said the AI found a loophole in an old version of the state agency\u2019s website, discovering that it issues a digital entry pass \u2013 an \u201caccess token\u201d \u2013 to visitors, which resulted in it requesting a token and gaining access to the information.<\/p>\n The AI developer said it had since put in place guardrails to prevent similar actions happening again. The incident was first reported by the news website Axios.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> With the midterm elections<\/a> fast approaching, many Americans have the economy<\/a> on their minds.<\/p>\n US voters are exhausted<\/a> by years of higher prices. Donald Trump<\/a> won the presidency in 2024 on promises to lower inflation and undo the damage he said the Biden administration had inflicted on the economy.<\/p>\n In Trump\u2019s view, his plan is working. At a recent rally in Montana, Trump boasted about the current economy, framing it as a booming time for Americans. \u201cWe\u2019re richer now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n Economic data paints a different picture. Inflation<\/a>, especially gas prices, have soared over the last year. The job market has been in stasis, and higher interest rates have meant it\u2019s more expensive for Americans to borrow money for loans and mortgages.<\/p>\n These fluctuations have a concrete impact on the lives of Americans. A recent Harris poll<\/a> for the Guardian found that a majority of Americans, including some Republicans, disagree. Nearly two-thirds said they believe the country is experiencing a recession, and many said higher prices have been a pain point. Americans are reporting having trouble saving, and a third polled said one surprise bill could sink them financially.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the data shows us about Trump\u2019s second term so far:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog.<\/p>\n Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim rhetoric against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday, portraying him as a threat to national security.<\/p>\n The president also questioned his loyalty to the United States in remarks that drew a sharp rebuke from a former top Arab American ally. Trump called El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, a \u201cjihadist\u201d who was \u201con the side of the terrorists\u201d and would \u201chave to go through a metal detector before he\u2019s allowed to go into the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n He also repeatedly invoked 9\/11, 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, AP reported.<\/p>\n El-Sayed, who would become the nation\u2019s first Muslim senator if elected, has called attacks on his loyalty to the country \u201cshameful\u201d and repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups.<\/p>\n The Republican president\u2019s remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president\u2019s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024. \u201cThe president\u2019s statements are out of line,\u201d he said in a phone interview. \u201cThey are crossing a red line. They are racist.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also reiterated his apparent love for buxom bums and encouraged the crowd to compliment rapper Nicki Minaj\u2019s behind. The comments about Minaj\u2019s derriere came as he explained his recent observation on the Republican Ohio senator Jon Husted\u2019s rear end.<\/p>\n Earlier in October, Trump said of the former college football player: \u201cI don\u2019t do this with men very often. I started examining his body, because I didn\u2019t know he was a great athlete. And I looked and I watched up and down. I looked at his ass and I looked at the whole \u2013 and then I looked at his hands. Look at his hands. He\u2019s got these, like, claws.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou are a great athlete,\u201d Trump also said to Husted. \u201cCongratulations.\u201d Trump was speaking at the rally to support Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican Senate candidate.<\/p>\n Read our full report here:<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Mary Peltola<\/a>, a Democrat who is running for Alaska<\/a>\u2019s lone US Senate seat, and her family suffered minor injuries in a car crash while driving to a campaign stop on Saturday, her campaign said. The family was on its way to the Alaska<\/a> Federation of Natives annual banquet when another vehicle crashed into the one transporting Peltola and her family, her campaign said in a statement on Sunday. Peltola required medical attention after the collision.<\/p>\n Todd Blanche, Donald Trump\u2019s attorney general, lashed out during an interview on Sunday while defending the justice department\u2019s pre-emptive lawsuit to block certification of Alaska\u2019s US Senate results if the GOP incumbent loses, calling a TV host\u2019s question \u201ccrazy\u201d. The testy repartee unfolded on CNN\u2019s State of the Union over the DoJ\u2019s unprecedented legal action, which alleges that there could be \u201cvoter confusion\u201d due to two candidates named Dan Sullivan on Alaska\u2019s ballot. Trump told reporters, \u201cI\u2019m the one that said do it\u201d when asked about the suit.<\/p>\n The US military has given<\/a> Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX access to restricted space tracking data, raising a new round of questions<\/a> about whether the Trump administration is attempting to hand over traffic control in Earth\u2019s orbit to a controversial donor. The access also raises new national security questions, industry observers say.<\/p>\n Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) has decreased significantly over the past year in the US following restrictions imposed by the Trump administration<\/a>, which has forced more people to seek help from food banks or go hungry, stakeholders say. The number of people who receive food stamps has dropped from 41.6 million in July 2025, before the One Big Beautiful Act took effect, to 36.5 million in June 2026, a 13% decrease, according to the latest data from the US Department of Agriculture<\/a>, which administers the program.<\/p>\n![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dan_Milmo,_R.png\")
Dan Milmo<\/p>\n![\"Lauren](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren_Aratani_Next_Gen.png\")
Lauren Aratani<\/p>\n