Trump Links Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed to Extremism, Compares Him to 9/11 Attackers

During a campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan, US President Donald Trump increased his efforts to associate US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with Muslim extremists, comparing him to the September 11 attackers while saying Democrats would let violent anti-American terrorists into the United States. Trump stated that Democrats would allow violent anti-American terrorists into the United States, adding, "I’m here to keep a jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator," to an audience that responded favorably.

If Abdul El-Sayed secures a victory, he would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. The South China Morning Post reports that Trump has attempted to characterize El-Sayed as an anti-American Muslim radical, and on Sunday, he escalated this rhetoric by drawing a parallel between El-Sayed and the individuals who seized United Flight 93 during the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Michigan is currently hosting one of the nation's most competitive US Senate races leading into the November 3 midterm elections, with El-Sayed competing against Republican former US Representative Mike Rogers for an open seat that could influence the chamber's control.