Trump targets El-Sayed with anti-Muslim attacks as Michigan Senate race tightens

Donald Trump repeatedly called Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist” during a campaign appearance in Iowa on Sunday, directing anti-Muslim attacks at the Michigan progressive as a closely contested race entered its final days. The contest will have a significant role in deciding control of the Senate after Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The president targeted El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim, with a claim that Congress would need a special metal detector for him if he won election. Trump also portrayed the Democratic candidate as a threat to voters, saying: “If you vote for this jihadist lunatic that wants to destroy you, you’re crazy.”

The remarks came amid a public split between El-Sayed and Hayley Stevens, whom he defeated in the Democratic primary in August. Their dispute has brought national attention to the Michigan campaign in recent days, adding a prominent party rupture to a race in which neither candidate has established a clear lead.

Stevens declined to campaign alongside El-Sayed while demanding that he publicly reject a political advertisement produced by an outside group. The advertisement suggested a connection between rising prices and US military support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Her demand concerned the outside group’s message as the candidates approached the final stretch of the election.

El-Sayed responded by telling Stevens not to attend a Sunday campaign event where the two had been scheduled to appear together. Stevens subsequently endorsed his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers. The decision to back Rogers in the closing hours of the tight contest drew condemnation from Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish.

Trump welcomed Stevens’s move and encouraged her to become a Republican. Calling her decision “an incredible thing”, he said he would like to see her join the party and believed that could happen. His praise for Stevens accompanied his appeals for voters to support Rogers over El-Sayed.

In describing Rogers, Trump repeatedly used apple pie as a metaphor. He contrasted that image with references to communists, jihadists and the Muslim Brotherhood, telling the audience that the country needed someone like the Republican candidate.

Trump also said his rally schedule had left little opportunity to watch football over the weekend. He urged voters to approach the midterms as though they were voting for him personally, saying: “Pretend I’m on the ballot.”