Trump invokes 9/11 in anti-Muslim attack on Michigan Senate candidate El-Sayed

PORT HURON, Michigan — President Donald Trump used a Sunday campaign rally to describe Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as a "jihadist" and to compare him to the September 11, 2001, attackers, according to Arab News. The vote is on November 3.

"I'm here to keep a jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator," Trump told the crowd, Arab News reported. Port Huron lies in an area of Michigan where 66 percent of voters backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election, the outlet said.

Al Jazeera English described the remarks as an escalation of anti-Muslim rhetoric. It said the president had launched "another fierce anti-Muslim attack" on El-Sayed, with the midterm elections just over a week away. Al Arabiya, in a post on Telegram, said Trump was rallying supporters against El-Sayed in Michigan. The post is unverified, but its basic claim matches the reports from Arab News and Al Jazeera.

What Trump said

According to Arab News, Trump likened El-Sayed to the hijackers who took over United Flight 93 on September 11. He compared voting against the candidate to the actions of Todd Beamer, a Michigan native, and others who fought back against the hijackers.

"Twenty-five years later, Michigan needs to stand up and fight, just like Todd did, to stop a jihadist from walking into the Capitol," Trump said, in the words reported by Arab News.

The outlet said Trump also told the rally that Democrats would let violent anti-American terrorists into the United States. If El-Sayed wins, he would be the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, Arab News reported. It said Trump has sought to portray him as an anti-American Muslim radical, and that Sunday's remarks took that approach further.

The rally

The crowd, described by Arab News as mostly White, cheered the comments about El-Sayed. Some attendees shouted "traitor" and others shouted "deport". Arab News noted that El-Sayed was born in Michigan.

Terrance Camburn, a 52-year-old disabled Army veteran from Sandusky, Michigan, told the outlet he backed Trump's criticism because of El-Sayed's "political beliefs." Asked about the 9/11 comparison, he said: "I've been down to Dearborn and I've seen many of the things he agrees with." Arab News noted that Dearborn has the highest per-capita concentration of Muslims of any US city.

El-Sayed and Rogers respond

El-Sayed has dismissed the accusations, according to Arab News. In a recent advertisement he defended his faith, saying: "Faith is a thing there's just too little of in Washington."

He has denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the oldest and most influential Islamist groups in the Arab world. He has said it is "shameful" for his Republican opponent, former US Representative Mike Rogers, to question his allegiance to the United States, the outlet reported.

Rogers has alleged, without evidence, that El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Arab News. On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Rogers said he did not agree with the idea that El-Sayed is a violent terrorist. He also said El-Sayed had not sufficiently answered questions about the allegations.

"He's a Democrat Socialist of America-aligned candidate who has these pretty radical support groups that don't like America," Rogers said on the programme.

Rogers did not respond to questions from Reuters about Trump's use of 9/11 as he left the Port Huron venue, Arab News said. The outlet's account carries Reuters' reporting.

Obama's comments

Trump's appearance came a day after former President Barack Obama campaigned for Democrats in Michigan. At a Saturday rally in Detroit, Obama said El-Sayed's opponents were trying to make him look "less American than they are," according to Arab News.

Obama compared the attacks to the false claims he faced that he was born in Kenya.

"We have seen this movie before. I starred in it ... This stuff didn't work on me. Not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul." — Barack Obama, former US president

Tariffs also an issue

Arab News said the US-Canada tariff standoff has also featured in the campaign. The dispute has affected the Detroit-based US auto industry and led Rogers to distance himself from the president's policy.

On Sunday, Rogers said Trump's tariffs had secured manufacturing investments in Michigan by Chevrolet and Detroit Diesel. He added that "the automobile portion of these Canadian tariffs worries me a little bit."

Background

The Michigan contest is one of the most competitive US Senate races in the country, Arab News reported. Rogers, a Republican, and El-Sayed, a Democrat, are competing for an open seat. The result will help determine which party controls the chamber, according to both Arab News and Al Jazeera.

Reports of the rally also appeared in Bengali-language outlet mzamin.com, whose headline said Trump raised the September 11 attacks to try to stop a Muslim Senate candidate in Michigan.

The Trump campaign and El-Sayed's campaign were not quoted directly in the material reviewed for this report beyond the remarks above. Rogers's claims about the Muslim Brotherhood have not been backed by evidence, according to Arab News.