Port Huron, Michigan – US President Donald Trump has stepped up his anti-Muslim attacks on Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, going so far as to suggest Christmas would be canceled if the progressive doctor wins.
Trump visited Michigan on Sunday to build support for Republican candidates in the Midwest state ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
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But from his platform, he made unfounded allegations against El-Sayed, notably calling him a “jihadist”.
“He would be the only senator who will have to pass a metal detector before being allowed into the Senate,” Trump said of El-Sayed.
“I want him to have a metal detector.”
The president, whose popularity has plummeted in part because of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, spoke for nearly two hours in front of hundreds of supporters.
His remarks focused largely on Michigan’s Senate elections, which are one of seven toss-up races for the upper house of Congress.
El-Sayed faces Republican candidate Mike Rogers for the open state Senate seat, and the race is seen as crucial for Republicans to maintain control of the 100-member Senate.
If Rogers wins, he would flip a seat currently held by incumbent Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, leaving Democrats with the difficult task of flipping five other seats to regain control of the chamber.
Currently, Republicans have a majority of 53 seats in the Senate. Only 35 Senate positions are up for election in 2026.
Here are five key takeaways from the Republican event.
Trump increases attacks against Muslims
While Trump has repeatedly targeted El-Sayed’s Muslim identity in recent weeks, including misrepresenting the Democrat’s name as “Mohammed,” the US president took his rhetoric to new heights on Sunday.
Throughout his speech, Trump returned to themes related to El-Sayed’s Muslim faith, falsely accusing the candidate of wanting to impose Islamic law on the United States.
“So Abdul… also wants our country to adhere to Sharia law, and if he succeeds, he should be the first to be tried. I will be a witness,” Trump said, apparently imagining that El-Sayed would be tried in a religious court.
Several times during the rally, some participants called him a “traitor” when El-Sayed’s name was mentioned.
“I’m here to stop a jihadist member of the Muslim Brotherhood from becoming a United States senator,” Trump said.
El-Sayed is a U.S.-born citizen and former public health official who is committed to upholding the Constitution. There is no evidence that he was ever a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or any foreign organization.
Since Trump first ran for president in the 2016 election cycle, he has used anti-Muslim bigotry as a weapon for political ends.
In 2015, for example – shortly before the start of his first successful campaign – Trump said he would support “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
Less than two years later, Trump used his presidency to sign a short-lived executive order banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries, which became known as the “Muslim ban.”
In his speech on Sunday, Trump once again appealed to fears over Muslim immigration.
“If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadists to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you can’t even have Christmas,” Trump said.
El-Sayed had previously largely dismissed anti-Muslim rhetoric against him as an attempt to create “distractions,” saying he was focused more on domestic issues, including lowering the cost of living and expanding access to health care.
Rogers kisses Trump
With Trump’s approval ratings plummeting, some Republican candidates in tight races have kept their distance from the president.
Rogers has previously called for an end to the war in Iran and expressed reservations about Trump’s tariff campaign, calling for an end to the trade war with Michigan’s border country Canada.
But Rogers attended Sunday’s rally and took the stage alongside Trump in a show of mutual support.
A survey by research firm Marketing Resource Group suggested earlier this month that only 35% of Michigan voters viewed Trump positively.
Rogers set the tone for anti-Muslim attacks on El-Sayed earlier in the rally, also claiming that the Democrat was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian political movement designated as a “terrorist” group by the United States this year.
However, as a member of Congress, Rogers voted in 2012 to continue U.S. aid to Egypt under Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.
In Sunday’s speech, Rogers also attempted to portray El-Sayed as part of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), but unlike other progressives, El-Sayed is not a member of the left-wing group.
“This DSA-affiliated candidate also takes a lot of money from organizations that support the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah,” Rogers said, without providing evidence.
All three groups are designated “terrorist” organizations in the United States, making any material support for them illegal.
Trump makes no apologies about Iran
As of Sunday, the average price of a gallon (3.8 liters) of gasoline in Michigan was $4.83, up from $2.91 before the war with Iran began.
Tehran restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the war, sending energy prices skyrocketing.
Trump initially promised the conflict would last only four to six weeks.
But nearly eight months after the U.S.-Israel war began on February 28, the conflict shows no signs of conclusion.
On Sunday, Trump said he did not regret the war.
“I have made this decision and I have no hesitation,” Trump told the crowd.
He added that he thinks gas prices would have risen much more than they did. He also defended his decision by referring to the threat of nuclear war.
“The number one sponsor of terrorism by far is Iran, and we needed to make sure they didn’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump said.
Iran has denied wanting to acquire nuclear weapons. It has long maintained that its uranium enrichment program was intended for civilian energy production.
Before the war, Trump also claimed that US strikes on Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities in June 2025 had completely “wiped out” the country’s nuclear program.
“We make a fucking fortune”
Despite economic anxiety over the cost of living and soaring gasoline prices, Trump boasted about the profits American oil companies are making from the war.
Demand for energy products has increased globally in recent months as supply chains tighten.
“Our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what happened in the Middle East, because they’re coming to Texas, and then Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and they’re taking this oil,” Trump said. “They’re making hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Trump added that his advisers had asked him not to address the issue because “people are paying a little more” for gasoline and gas.
“I just saw the fake headline: ‘President Trump talks about all the money he’s making while people suffer at the pumps.’ This will be the title. I said, “I don’t care. I’ll say it. We’re making a fucking fortune,” the US president said.
Trump can still mobilize the Republican base
On Sunday, a line of Trump supporters stretched for several blocks outside the rally.
Attendees, dressed in Make America Great Again (MAGA) gear, filled the hockey arena where Trump spoke.
The crowd roared and laughed along with Trump, with attendees frequently letting out expressions of admiration for the president and insults against his opponents, particularly El-Sayed.
Trump could appear politically withdrawn amid waning popularity and growing anger over inflation and the war in Iran.
But the president has emphasized his continued ability to mobilize his core MAGA base, often pointing to the size of his crowd as an indicator of his success as an activist.
The audience remained engaged and seated throughout Sunday’s speech.
At one point, the speech took a bizarre turn when the president talked about the butt of Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican running in another tight Senate race.
“I looked at his ass, and I’ve never done that with a man before. Women? Yes. Men? No,” Trump said.
The American president also complimented the buttocks of rapper Nicki Minaj, one of his main supporters in attendance.
“By the way, I once watched a pretty damn beauty: Nicki Minaj. She’s hard to miss,” Trump said.
The crowd applauded.
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