Trump Intensifies Attacks on El-Sayed at Michigan Rally, Drawing Rebuke
Trump used a Port Huron rally to escalate unsupported allegations against Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, prompting condemnation from a former leader of Arab Americans for Trump.
President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed during a campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday, October 25, 2026, repeatedly linking the Muslim candidate to terrorism without providing evidence. The remarks went beyond Trump’s social-media attack earlier in the day and drew condemnation from a former leader of a group that helped organize Arab American support for him in 2024.
Speaking at McMorran Place while campaigning for Republican nominee Mike Rogers, Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist,” said he was “on the side of the terrorists” and joked that he should pass through a metal detector before entering the Senate. The Associated Press and NBC News both reported that Trump offered no evidence for the allegations. El-Sayed has repeatedly denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood or extremist groups.
Trump invokes the September 11 attacks
Trump tied his argument to the September 11, 2001, attacks as he introduced David Beamer, whose son Todd was among the passengers who resisted hijackers aboard United Flight 93. Trump compared preventing El-Sayed from winning a Senate seat with the passengers’ actions. Beamer then described the election as a visible threat from within the country and questioned whether El-Sayed was genuinely American. El-Sayed was born in Michigan.
The president’s statements were political attacks, not findings by a court or law-enforcement agency. The AP reported there is no evidence that El-Sayed belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood. The U.S. government has designated certain branches of the international movement as terrorist organizations, but that does not establish a connection between El-Sayed and those branches.
Former Trump ally condemns the remarks
Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, told the AP that the president’s comments crossed a red line and were racist. The organization, which has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace, participated in Trump’s outreach to Arab American voters during the 2024 presidential campaign. Bahbah said the remarks were unacceptable to both Muslim and Christian Arab communities.
El-Sayed responded at a rally in Grand Rapids later Sunday by dismissing Trump’s repeated mispronunciations and mischaracterizations of his name, telling supporters that Trump could call him “senator” after the November 3 election. His campaign did not immediately provide NBC News with a separate response to the Port Huron remarks. El-Sayed has previously called attacks on his loyalty shameful and defended the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom.
Rogers stops short of Trump’s characterization
Rogers, the Republican nominee Trump was in Michigan to support, did not adopt the president’s description when questioned on NBC’s Meet the Press. Asked about Trump calling El-Sayed a terrorist, Rogers said the contest was between him and El-Sayed and added, “I’ve never called him a terrorist.” Before Trump spoke, however, Rogers repeated his own allegation that El-Sayed was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denies that allegation.
A new development in a close Senate race
The completed rally and the reaction to Trump’s remarks are a material development beyond his pre-rally social-media post. The race between Rogers and El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health director, is among the contests that could determine control of the Senate. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim elected to the chamber. The candidates are seeking the seat of retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
Trump won Michigan in 2024 after making substantial gains in Arab American communities, including Dearborn, where many voters opposed the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza. His sharper rhetoric now tests that coalition in the final days before the midterm election. C-SPAN carried the Port Huron event, while the AP and NBC independently documented the president’s remarks, El-Sayed’s denials and the political response.
Sources and image credit
- Associated Press — Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan
- NBC News — Trump’s rhetoric at the Port Huron rally and responses
- C-SPAN — Trump speaks at a GOP midterm rally in Port Huron
- Image: Trump at a 2025 Michigan rally, via Wikimedia Commons
- Original federal-government image source
- Image license: public domain, U.S. government work