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President Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim attacks on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a Sunday appearance in Port Huron, prompting condemnation from a former leader of his outreach to Arab American voters, NPR reported. Trump portrayed the Democratic candidate as a national security threat and questioned his loyalty to the United States. He also invoked the September 11 terrorist attacks while discussing keeping El-Sayed out of the Senate. NPR reported that there is no evidence El-Sayed has an affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, a connection Republicans have sought to establish during the closing weeks of the campaign. El-Sayed has repeatedly denied ties to extremist groups and described attacks on his loyalty as shameful. The remarks drew a rebuke from Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump. That organization helped lead Trump’s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024 and has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace. Bahbah told NPR that the president’s statements crossed a line and were racist. He said the remarks were unacceptable to Arab and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs. El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, is running against Republican Mike Rogers in a race NPR described as one of several that could determine control of the Senate. If elected, El-Sayed would become the country’s first Muslim senator. Speaking to supporters in Grand Rapids later Sunday, El-Sayed responded to Trump’s repeated mockery of his name by telling the crowd that the president could call him senator after November. The location of Trump’s appearance added significance to the dispute. Port Huron is about an hour north of Detroit, near communities where Trump gained support among Arab American voters in 2024. NPR reported that he became the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win Dearborn, which has one of the country’s largest concentrations of Arab Americans. El-Sayed’s own statements and campaign associations have also faced scrutiny. NPR reported that he apologized earlier this year for comments following an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue, saying he had not intended to justify the violence. The latest exchange places religious identity and allegations about loyalty at the center of the Senate campaign. NPR’s reporting distinguishes those allegations from the evidence: it found no affiliation between El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood.
President Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim attacks on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a Sunday appearance in Port Huron, prompting condemnation from a former leader of his outreach to Arab American voters, NPR reported.
Trump portrayed the Democratic candidate as a national security threat and questioned his loyalty to the United States. He also invoked the September 11 terrorist attacks while discussing keeping El-Sayed out of the Senate.
NPR reported that there is no evidence El-Sayed has an affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, a connection Republicans have sought to establish during the closing weeks of the campaign. El-Sayed has repeatedly denied ties to extremist groups and described attacks on his loyalty as shameful.
The remarks drew a rebuke from Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump. That organization helped lead Trump’s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024 and has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace.
Bahbah told NPR that the president’s statements crossed a line and were racist. He said the remarks were unacceptable to Arab and Muslim communities, including Christian Arabs.
El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, is running against Republican Mike Rogers in a race NPR described as one of several that could determine control of the Senate. If elected, El-Sayed would become the country’s first Muslim senator.
Speaking to supporters in Grand Rapids later Sunday, El-Sayed responded to Trump’s repeated mockery of his name by telling the crowd that the president could call him senator after November.
The location of Trump’s appearance added significance to the dispute. Port Huron is about an hour north of Detroit, near communities where Trump gained support among Arab American voters in 2024. NPR reported that he became the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win Dearborn, which has one of the country’s largest concentrations of Arab Americans.
El-Sayed’s own statements and campaign associations have also faced scrutiny. NPR reported that he apologized earlier this year for comments following an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue, saying he had not intended to justify the violence.
The latest exchange places religious identity and allegations about loyalty at the center of the Senate campaign. NPR’s reporting distinguishes those allegations from the evidence: it found no affiliation between El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood.
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