Trump Calls Jewish El-Sayed Voters Ashamed

President Donald Trump told a crowd in Michigan that Jewish voters supporting the Democratic Senate nominee should be ashamed of themselves.

The president made the remarks on Sunday at a rally in Port Huron, a city located north of Detroit. He addressed an audience of approximately 4,000 people who had gathered to hear him campaign for Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate for the open Senate seat. Trump stated that any Jewish person backing Abdul El-Sayed should never speak to that person again.

The comments come as hundreds of Jewish residents in Michigan have pledged their support for El-Sayed. Polls indicate that El-Sayed is currently leading Rogers by a narrow margin in a contest that will determine which party controls the Senate. The race has drawn sharp divisions within the local Jewish community. Some members have pressured El-Sayed to defend Jewish safety and sovereignty in Israel, while others have urged their peers to reject him and vote for Rogers.

El-Sayed has opposed US military aid to Israel, arguing that the country is committing genocide in Gaza and is no longer an ally. Those views split the Democratic primary, which El-Sayed won in August against Representative Haley Stevens. The former public health official has focused his recent campaign efforts on healthcare, housing, and education. He hired a Jewish outreach director last week to reach undecided voters before the November 3 election.

Trump has previously described Jewish Democrats as disloyal to Israel and their own community. On Sunday, he claimed to be polling at 99 percent in Israel, a nation that holds national elections on Tuesday. He did not provide evidence for that figure. A June poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute found that trust in Trump among Israelis had fallen to 12 percent, down from 21 percent in May. The share of Israelis who completely distrust him rose from 32 percent to 37 percent.

The president also attacked El-Sayed’s religious background, calling him a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a jihadist. Trump said El-Sayed would need a metal detector to enter the Senate. He warned that a Democratic victory would open the floodgates for more jihadists to arrive on American shores. Trump asserted that El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, celebrated the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. A video posted by Abdelhadi on the first anniversary of the attack mentioned the horizon of justice but did not directly mention the violence.

Trump also stated that El-Sayed’s mother worked for an organization that gave money to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. An investigation by The New York Times found that she worked as a nurse in Missouri for a Muslim aid group later designated by the US government as a supporter of terrorist groups. She was never accused of wrongdoing. El-Sayed’s campaign said he disagrees with his sister on several political positions. He was raised by his father and stepmother and described his relationship with his biological mother as limited.

Former President Barack Obama campaigned with El-Sayed in Detroit on Saturday. Obama praised the potential pairing of El-Sayed with Senator Elissa Slotkin, who has endorsed the nominee. He described the duo as a Muslim man and a Jewish woman fighting for Michigan in the US Senate.