Trump targets El-Sayed’s family, claims sister ‘celebrated’ Oct 7 and mother aided bin Laden group

DALLAS, TEXAS: President Donald Trump on Wednesday, September 9, targeted Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s family at the first-ever Republican midterm convention held in Dallas, Texas.

The Republican leader claimed El-Sayed’s sister had “celebrated” the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and alleged that his mother had worked for an organization that gave money to people who followed Osama bin Laden. El-Sayed’s campaign has previously disputed the characterization of his mother’s work, saying she was helping orphaned children and was never accused or charged in connection with the organization. 

Trump cites Abdul El-Sayed’s sister and mother in attack on Democratic Senate nominee

Trump brought up El-Sayed’s family while discussing Democratic candidates and urging Republicans to oppose what he described as the party’s left wing. "In Michigan, the Democrat nominee is Abdul El-Sayed, who brags about the fact that he wants to pack the Supreme Court with 23 far-left lunatics... justices," Trump said.

"His sister celebrated the slaughter of babies on October 7th. She thought it was a great thing. His sister thought it was a great day. His mother worked for an organization that gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to people that follow Osama bin Laden," the 80-year-old president claimed. 

In a 2024 video posted on Instagram by the Rabbis4Ceasefire account, El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, gave a “blessing” on the one-year anniversary of October 7. Trump characterized those remarks in his speech as Abdelhadi celebrating the attacks.

Trump also referred to El-Sayed’s mother’s former employment with the Islamic American Relief Agency. The organization was later sanctioned by the Treasury Department over allegations involving support for individuals and groups including bin Laden and Hamas.

However, El-Sayed’s campaign told Snopes that his mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, was "working to help orphaned children" and was "never accused of any wrongdoing and was not charged or named as a defendant" in indictments involving the organization.

“And he campaigns with a Marxist agitator who says that America deserved 9/11. We deserved to have 3,000 people killed, two massive structures brought to the ground,” Trump further said during his speech, referring to political commentator and livestreamer Hasan Piker.

He then called on supporters to vote for the Republican candidate: “Yet the Democrats want to make this extremist a US senator and running against somebody really good. Fortunately, we have a man named Mike Rogers, who's great. So on November 3rd, get out and vote for Mike Rogers.” 

Abdul El-Sayed’s past Trump-bin Laden comparison

In a 2021 blog post, El-Sayed allegedly compared the January 6 attack with the September 11 attacks and argued that Trump should face legal accountability for his conduct surrounding the Capitol riot. "I was a junior in high school 20 years ago when I watched the second plane hit the Twin Towers from my chemistry classroom," the Democrat apparently wrote. 

The Democrat noted that he saw the January 6 attack nearly two decades later and said the event brought him back to the experience of watching the 9/11 attacks. El-Sayed argued that Trump had "recruited, radicalized and reassured" January 6 rioters in a manner he compared with bin Laden’s recruitment of the 19 people responsible for the September 11 attacks. 

El-Sayed also wrote that the lawmakers had a constitutional and "moral" obligation to hold Trump accountable and prevent him from returning to office.