President Trump intensified attacks on Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a rally in Port Huron Sunday, calling him a “jihadist” who was “on the side of the terrorists” and questioning his loyalty to US.
asserted
who → intensify → US
The remarks drew condemnation from a former Trump ally in the Arab American community.
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remarks → draw → community
Trump said El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, would “have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into Senate”.
asserted
he → say → Senate
He repeatedly invoked the 9/11 attacks and compared blocking El-Sayed from the Senate chamber with passengers fighting hijackers aboard United Flight 93.
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He → invoke → Flight
El-Sayed would become the first Muslim American senator if elected.
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Sayed → become → ?
He has denied any ties to extremist groups and called attacks on his loyalty “shameful”.
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He → deny → loyalty
At a Grand Rapids rally later Sunday, he responded to 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 Nov,” El-Sayed said.
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Sayed → respond → Nov
Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, which helped lead Trump’s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024, called the comments racist.
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which → lead → comments
“The president’s statements are out of line,” he said.
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he → say → line
“They are crossing a red line.
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They → cross → line
The organisation has since been renamed Arab Americans for Peace.
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organisation → rename → Peace
Bahbah said the remarks were unacceptable to Arab and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs, and voters would remember them on Nov 3.
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voters → say → Nov
Trump won Dearborn in 2024, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to carry the city, which has one of the country’s largest concentrations of Arab Americans.
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which → win → Americans
Many voters had opposed the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war.
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voters → oppose → war
The race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters is among a handful that could determine control of the Senate.
uncertain
that → succeed → Senate
With Republicans under pressure over inflation, fuel prices and the Iran war, Trump has portrayed El-Sayed as a threat to US.
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Trump → portray → US
Trump also declared he had come to Michigan “to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator”.
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he → declare → member
There is no evidence El-Sayed has any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Sayed → be → Brotherhood
Republicans have cited a 2012 social media post by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, who wrote that “my family has long been MB” and described their mother’s involvement with the group in the early 1970s.
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family → cite → 1970s
El-Sayed was born in the US to Egyptian immigrant parents who divorced when he was young.
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he → bear → parents
He was raised by his father, not his biological mother.
asserted
He → raise → father
Rogers questioned El-Sayed’s loyalty during their final general-election debate, asking, “Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?”
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you → question → groups
El-Sayed replied: “I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray.”
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we → reply → right
Rogers repeated the Muslim Brotherhood allegation before Trump’s appearance.
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Rogers → repeat → appearance
Trump attacked El-Sayed’s links to streamer Hasan Piker, who appeared with him during the primary campaign.
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who → attack → campaign
Piker has said “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, called some Orthodox Jews “inbred” and said “America deserved 9/11.”
El-Sayed has also faced criticism over his rhetoric.
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Sayed → say → rhetoric
After an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue, he said “hurt people hurt people”.
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people → say → people
The attacker had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon a week earlier.
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attacker → lose → Lebanon
El-Sayed later apologised, saying he had not intended to justify the attack.
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he → apologise → attack
Senator Bernie Sanders, appearing with El-Sayed in Grand Rapids, accused Trump and his allies of using Islamophobia because they had “nothing to say” about healthcare, housing and income inequality.
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they → appear → healthcare
“All they can do is foment hatred and divisiveness,” he said.
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he → do → hatred
The Aporia
