Trump invokes 9/11 attacks to blast Abdul El-Sayed, demands metal detector screening for Democrat
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump used some of his sharpest political rhetoric to attack Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as he rallied supporters in Port Huron for the state's Republican candidates, including GOP Senate nominee and former Rep Mike Rogers.
Calling El-Sayed a “Muslim Brotherhood member,” the 80-year-old president compared him to the September 11 attackers and demanded that he undergo metal detector screening if elected to the US Senate in November’s midterm elections.
Michigan is home to one of the country's most closely contested Senate races ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, with Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed battling for an open seat that could help determine control of the chamber.
A recent Marist poll showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by 50% to 48% among likely Michigan voters.
Trump targets Abdul El-Sayed over alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties
Trump began his attacks by saying El-Sayed "should never be allowed inside the halls of our great, beautiful Capitol building in Washington, DC," adding that his supporters would elect his preferred candidate, Rogers, to the US Senate.
The president then accused El-Sayed's family of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood without providing any evidence.
He said, "Anyone with that record of support for ji***ists would be screened and unable to get a seat on an airplane. They certainly should not give him a seat in the United States Senate."
Trump then demanded that the Democratic candidate undergo metal detector screening, declaring, “He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector.”
Trump also drew a comparison between the September 11, 2001, attacks and El-Sayed as he introduced Speaker David Beamer, whose son, Todd Beamer, was a passenger who died aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 93.
Trump: El-Sayed would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector https://t.co/secPYORCwe
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 25, 2026
“Twenty-five years later, Michigan needs to stand up and fight just like Todd did to stop someone like that from walking into the Capitol,” Trump said
Abdul El-Sayed calls loyalty accusations ‘shameful’ as Obama backs him
El-Sayed has rejected the allegations against him and defended his faith in a recent campaign ad, saying, “Faith is a thing there’s just too little of in Washington.”
He has also denied any affiliation with the group, calling it “shameful” that Rogers would question his loyalty to the United States.
“You’re asking the question because implicitly you assume that I’ll have dual loyalties,” El-Sayed said, adding that he would take an oath to uphold the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned for El-Sayed in Detroit on Saturday, urging voters to support the Democratic candidate. “We have seen this movie before,” Obama said. “I starred in it ... This stuff didn’t work on me. Not in Michigan. It’s not going to work on Abdul."
Obama also criticized Trump's handling of the Iran war during a separate rally in Cleveland, Ohio, where he campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, who is challenging Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
