Trump called Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist during weekend campaign rallies
Donald Trump repeated his claim that Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful from Michigan, is a “jihadist” at campaign rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. Trump also joked that the Senate would need metal detectors to scan El-Sayed if he were elected, as he continued Islamophobic rhetoric days before the midterm elections.
More context
Al Jazeera reported that at Sunday rallies in Iowa and Kansas, Trump again branded Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist” and joked that lawmakers would need metal detectors to screen him if he won. The remarks came as Trump doubled down on Islamophobic rhetoric and conspiracy theories about the Democratic Party at the two events, days before the November 3 midterm elections. The elections will determine control of Congress during Trump’s final two years as president. Al Jazeera said the Iowa Senate race was too close to call. In Kansas, one Senate seat and all four of the state’s House seats were up for election; the state last elected a Democratic senator in 1932.
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Verifier’s note
Al Jazeera reports that Trump called Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist” at both his Iowa and Kansas rallies, directly supporting the claim. Daily Gate City notes an attack on El-Sayed at the Iowa rally but does not specify anti-Muslim rhetoric.