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 He also repeatedly invoked the Sept. 11, 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.<\/p>\n
El-Sayed, who would become the nation\u2019s first Muslim senator if elected, has called attacks<\/a> on his loyalty to the country \u201cshameful\u201d and repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups. The Republican president\u2019s remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump<\/a>, the group that helped lead the president\u2019s outreach to Arab American voters<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n \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 With Republicans on the defensive over inflation, soaring fuel prices and the Iran war, the president has been trying to generate turnout by claiming that El-Sayed and other Democrats are existential threats to America, instead of electoral rivals. Michigan\u2019s Senate race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is among a handful of contests that could determine control of the chamber.<\/p>\n Trump made his remarks in Port Huron, a Canadian border city about an hour north of Detroit and near communities where he made significant gains among Arab American voters in 2024. He became the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win Dearborn<\/a>, a city with one of the nation\u2019s largest concentrations of Arab Americans.<\/p>\n Trump, who imposed a travel ban targeting several predominantly Muslim countries during his first term, has increasingly leaned into anti-Muslim rhetoric<\/a> as Election Day approaches. He also attacked Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota at Sunday\u2019s rally, where he declared that he had come to Michigan \u201cto keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator.\u201d<\/p>\n Responding to Trump, who also regularly mocks his name<\/a>, El-Sayed told supporters at a rally in Grand Rapids later Sunday that he doesn\u2019t care how Trump pronounces or misrepresents it.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even care that he remembers my whole name because he can just go on and call me \u2018senator\u2019 after November,\u201d El-Sayed said, drawing cheers. \u201cI will be Senator Muhammad to you, bro.\u201d<\/p>\n This combination photo of images taken in Detroit shows Senate nominees Republican Mike Rogers, Aug. 20, 2026, left, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photos\/Paul Sancya)\n<\/p>\n A protester is removed as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Port Huron, Mich. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)\n<\/p>\n Former President Barack Obama, center, joined by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson raise hands during a campaign event at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo\/Paul Sancya)\n<\/p>\n President Donald Trump listens as Nicki Minaj speaks during a campaign rally at McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Port Huron, Mich. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 4<\/p>\n This combination photo of images taken in Detroit shows Senate nominees Republican Mike Rogers, Aug. 20, 2026, left, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photos\/Paul Sancya)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> Central to Republicans\u2019 strategy against El-Sayed in the final weeks of the campaign has been an effort to link him to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic movement with branches that the U.S. government has designated as terrorist organizations<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is no evidence that El-Sayed has any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. His half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, wrote on social media in 2012 that \u201cmy family has long been MB\u201d and described a conversation with her mother about her involvement in the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1970s.<\/p>\n El-Sayed was born in the United States to Egyptian immigrant parents who divorced when he was young. He was raised by his father, not his biological mother.<\/p>\n Trump on Sunday also targeted El-Sayed\u2019s ties to popular streamer Hasan Piker, who appeared alongside the Democrat multiple times during the primary campaign, including at his election night event.<\/p>\n Piker in the past has said that \u201cHamas is a thousand times better\u201d than Israel, describing some Orthodox Jews as \u201cinbred\u201d and that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed has faced criticism for his own rhetoric. He has repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether Iran or Israel poses a bigger threat to the country. Earlier this year, he said \u201churt people hurt people\u201d after an attack on a synagogue in the Detroit area. The attacker had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon the week earlier. El-Sayed later apologized<\/a>, saying he was not trying to justify what happened.<\/p>\n \u201cTo anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I\u2019m really sorry,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was not my intention.\u201d<\/p>\n Founder of Arab Americans for Trump calls the president \u2018racist\u2019<\/p>\n Bahbah, whose organization has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace, said Trump\u2019s remarks were unacceptable to Arab and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe remarks are out of line and crazy. I mean, no sane individual would say these things,\u201d Bahbah said.<\/p>\n Dearborn helped Trump win Michigan in 2024 after many voters in the city were outraged by the Biden administration\u2019s handling of the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president of the United States saying that about a person because of his religion, that is just not acceptable,\u201d said Bahbah. \u201cAnd people are going to remember that on Nov. 3.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Bernie Sanders, speaking at the Grand Rapids rally, said Trump and his allies were using Islamophobia because they have \u201cnothing to say\u201d about the issues most important to working people, such as health care, housing and income inequality.<\/p>\n \u201cAll they can do is foment hatred and divisiveness,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n The campaign has been one of the most contentious this year<\/p>\n Rogers and El-Sayed have been locked in a bitter race to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Election_2_26_Michigan_64367_a6629b-1.jpg?w=620\")
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\nEl-Sayed\u2019s faith, associations and past statements become campaign flashpoints<\/p>\n