President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday, accusing him without evidence of being a Muslim extremist, a day after former President Barack Obama defended El-Sayed against attacks on his religion and patriotism.
“Heading to Michigan to fight a Jihadist Member of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the physician and former public health official, who is running against Republican Mike Rogers.
Trump also claimed El-Sayed wanted to impose Sharia law in the United States, adding, “If it ever does, he should be the first that’s tried!” He offered no evidence for either accusation.
The remarks followed Obama’s Saturday campaign appearances in Ohio and Michigan, where the former president criticized Trump’s leadership, rallied Democratic voters and delivered a memorable assessment of the president’s gold-heavy White House renovations.
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama joked during a Cleveland rally. “He should be on HGTV,” Obama added, questioning Trump’s priorities as Americans contend with rising costs.
Obama appeared alongside Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, who is challenging Republican incumbent Jon Husted, and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, who faces Trump-backed Vivek Ramaswamy. He also criticized a Ramaswamy campaign advertisement featuring Acton’s estranged mother, arguing that political ambition did not justify such personal attacks.
In Detroit, Obama campaigned for El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, invoking the racist birther conspiracy theories Trump promoted against him while defending El-Sayed.
“We have seen this movie before. I starred in it,” Obama said. “I have a long form birth certificate to prove it.”
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Trump, meanwhile, escalated his attacks on El-Sayed during a Sunday rally in Port Huron, Michigan, where he campaigned for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
“I’m here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator,” Trump told supporters, echoing his Truth Social post from earlier in the day. El-Sayed, a former public health official who would become the Senate’s first Muslim member if elected, has repeatedly denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and rejected attacks on his faith and patriotism.
Trump also invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, comparing opposition to El-Sayed’s candidacy to the passengers who fought back against hijackers aboard United Flight 93. “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, referring to passenger Todd Beamer.
Todd Beamer’s father, David Beamer, also addressed the crowd, questioning El-Sayed’s claim to American identity and arguing that being born in the United States and having an American birth certificate does not, by itself, make someone a “real American.”
The president’s lengthy remarks ranged from familiar, unsubstantiated claims about fraud in the 2020 election to attacks on Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. Rogers and Republican gubernatorial candidate John James also addressed the crowd, urging supporters to vote.
For all their political differences, Obama and Trump appeared to agree on one thing this weekend: Trump is on the ballot in November, even if his name isn’t.
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