Trump launches racist diatribe against Abdul El-Sayed at Iowa rally
President again took aim at progressive Senate candidate and lauded Haley Stevens for endorsing Mike Rogers Donald Trump railed against Democratic US senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign event in Iowa Sunday, repeatedly referring to the Michigan progressive as a “jihadist”. Trump’s comments aimed to influence a neck-and-neck race that will play an outsized role in determining which party controls the senate…
Key points
- Donald Trump called Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a "jihadist" at an Iowa campaign rally on Sunday.
- Trump said Congress would need "a special metal detector for Abdul" if El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim, were elected.
- Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the August primary, endorsed his Republican opponent Mike Rogers after El-Sayed told her to stay away from a joint campaign event.
Donald Trump attacked Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday, repeatedly calling the progressive, who is a practicing Muslim, a "jihadist." Trump said Congress would have to "get a special metal detector for Abdul" if he were elected.
The Michigan race is close and is expected to play a major role in deciding which party controls the Senate after Tuesday's midterms. Trump also praised Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the August primary, for endorsing his Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
Stevens endorses Rogers
Stevens had declined to campaign with El-Sayed and asked him to publicly disavow an outside group's ad linking rising prices to US military support for Israel's war on Gaza. El-Sayed then told her to stay away from a campaign event where they were due to appear together on Sunday, and Stevens endorsed Rogers instead.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, condemned Stevens's defection in the final hours of the tight race. Trump, by contrast, praised her and urged her to join the Republican Party, saying: "I'd love her to join the Republican party."
If you vote for this jihadist lunatic that wants to destroy you, you’re crazy
— Donald Trump
Trump on the campaign trail
Trump described Rogers as "apple pie" and said the country needs apple pie rather than "the communists or jihadists, the Muslim Brotherhood." He said he had little time to watch football over the weekend because he had been attending rallies around the country.
He told the crowd to "Pretend I'm on the ballot," adding: "Essentially, I am on the ballot."
