Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan,
drawing Arab American rebuke
[October 26, 2026]
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump intensified his
anti-Muslim rhetoric against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on
Sunday, portraying him as a threat to national security and questioning
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 “jihadist”
who was “on the side of the terrorists” and would “have to go through a
metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate.” 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.
El-Sayed, who would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected,
has called attacks on his loyalty to the country “shameful” and
repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups. The Republican
president's remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab
Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president’s outreach
to Arab American voters in 2024.
“The president’s statements are out of line," he said in a phone
interview. "They are crossing a red line. They are racist.”
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’s Senate race between El-Sayed
and Republican Mike Rogers is among a handful of contests that could
determine control of the chamber.
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 city with one of
the nation’s largest concentrations of Arab Americans.
Trump, who imposed a travel ban targeting several predominantly Muslim
countries during his first term, has increasingly leaned into
anti-Muslim rhetoric as Election Day approaches. He also attacked
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota at Sunday’s rally, where he
declared that he had come to Michigan “to keep a jihadist Muslim
Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator.”
Responding to Trump, who also regularly mocks his name, El-Sayed told
supporters at a rally in Grand Rapids later Sunday that he doesn't care
how Trump pronounces or misrepresents it.
“I don’t even care that he remembers my whole name because he can just
go on and call me ‘senator’ after November,” El-Sayed said, drawing
cheers. "I will be Senator Muhammad to you, bro.”
El-Sayed’s faith, associations and past statements become campaign
flashpoints
Central to Republicans’ 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.
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 “my family has long been MB” and described a conversation with
her mother about her involvement in the Muslim Brotherhood in the early
1970s.
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.
Trump on Sunday also targeted El-Sayed’s ties to popular streamer Hasan
Piker, who appeared alongside the Democrat multiple times during the
primary campaign, including at his election night event.
Piker in the past has said that “Hamas is a thousand times better” than
Israel, describing some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and that “America
deserved 9/11.”
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 “hurt people hurt
people” 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, saying he was not trying to justify
what happened.
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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)
“To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m
really sorry,” he said. “That was not my intention.”
Founder of Arab Americans for Trump calls the president ‘racist’
Bahbah, whose organization has since changed its name to Arab
Americans for Peace, said Trump’s remarks were unacceptable to Arab
and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs.
“The remarks are out of line and crazy. I mean, no sane individual
would say these things," Bahbah said.
Dearborn helped Trump win Michigan in 2024 after many voters in the
city were outraged by the Biden administration's handling of the war
in Gaza.
“The president of the United States saying that about a person
because of his religion, that is just not acceptable,” said Bahbah.
“And people are going to remember that on Nov. 3.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, speaking at the Grand Rapids rally, said Trump
and his allies were using Islamophobia because they have “nothing to
say” about the issues most important to working people, such as
health care, housing and income inequality.
“All they can do is foment hatred and divisiveness,” Sanders said.
The campaign has been one of the most contentious this year
Rogers and El-Sayed have been locked in a bitter race to fill the
seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
During their second and final general election campaign debate,
Rogers questioned El-Sayed's loyalty to the United States.
“Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups
overseas?” Rogers asked.
El-Sayed said that questioning was “shameful.”
“I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right
to pray as we choose to pray,” he said.
Speaking before Trump’s appearance Sunday, Rogers repeated his
allegations linking El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood.
“The Muslim Brotherhood celebrated exactly one victory in the United
States in the primary this year,” Rogers said on stage. “Abdul El-Sayed's.”
Rally doesn't deliver a new economic handout, but gets boost from
Minaj
Trump has routinely announced new investments in factories at his
campaign rallies, but he did not do so as part of his speech in
Michigan, a state defined by the auto industry.
The president instead repeated investments already being made by
domestic automakers. Those automakers could see their finances slump
if the president expands his trade war with Canada, which has been
an essential partner for the U.S. automotive sector.
While it lacked a fresh promise for Michigan's economy, Trump's
rally did deliver a bit of star power.
Rapper Nicki Minaj appeared on stage and urged people to get out and
vote for the state's Republican ticket. Her appearance followed an
awkward moment from Trump, who has increasingly been fixated on
commenting about other people's body parts.
After praising the body of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican in a
close election contest, Trump turned his eye toward Minaj and
commented on her posterior.
The president then signaled for Minaj to stand for the crowd and she
did, after which Trump said, “I hope Nicki wasn’t insulted, but we
love Nicki. She’s been with us for a long time.”
___
Cappelletti reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh
Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
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