Trump calls Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed a 'jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday branded Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a "jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member" during a campaign rally in the battleground state, endorsing Republican Mike Rogers and warning supporters that the Democrat would require metal detectors to enter the chamber while accusing him of seeking to abolish police and federal border enforcement agencies.

Michigan Senate race

Speaking to supporters in Michigan during his 26th rally in 12 days, Trump targeted El-Sayed's bid to fill the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, a contest seen as critical for party control in the Senate. "I'm here today in Michigan for a very important reason. I'm here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator, and that's the fact. Not going to let that happen," he told the crowd. He endorsed former Republican Representative Mike Rogers while urging voter turnout on November 3, warning that participation drops when his name is absent from the ballot. "Please show up and vote, because essentially we are all on the ballot," he said.

The president also attacked Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, alleging she assumed office under an alternate name and demanding her immediate resignation from Congress while disparaging Somalia. The remarks follow heightened political friction after federal agents executed an early-morning search warrant at Omar's Washington, DC residence on October 12.

Foreign policy remarks

Shifting to international affairs, Trump attributed recent urban unrest in France, Italy and Spain entirely to immigration, recalling how he cautioned French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 about border policies. "I didn't see any students there. These were a lot of large men with very big muscles," he said. He also voiced frustration toward Norway over the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing that he resolved eight conflicts without receiving recognition after the Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. "I don't want anybody from Norway," he said, contrasting the country with Denmark, which he described as "great" for cooperating on a security and defense framework regarding Greenland.

Addressing reporters prior to the rally, Trump said Washington is "getting close to a deal" with Canada, alleging that Ottawa has long profited off the US despite strained bilateral trade ties and mutual tariffs imposed following the collapse of trade negotiations. He dismissed immediate proliferation risks regarding subterranean uranium in Iran, citing heavy rock coverage at targeted facilities alongside continuous surveillance by the US Space Force. Strains persist across the Middle East as the Iran war remains unresolved following large-scale American and Israeli military strikes, though Trump claimed the US defeated Iran "militarily, financially and otherwise" and predicted the conflict would end "quite soon, one way or the other."