Trump leans into Islamophobic rhetoric at Michigan rally

At a Sunday rally in Port Huron, Michigan, President Donald Trump cast Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as a jihadist and Muslim Brotherhood member, while praising Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former congressman, as "apple pie." The two are tied in the race, according to NBC News. Trump said El-Sayed should face a metal detector before entering the Senate, and he linked the contest to the September 11 attacks when introducing David Beamer, whose son Todd died aboard United Flight 93.

Beamer, who appears in Rogers' ads, went further, describing El-Sayed as anti-American and arguing that a birth certificate does not make someone American. Both candidates were born in Michigan. El-Sayed's campaign had not answered a request for comment.

El-Sayed has consistently rejected any link to the Brotherhood and has condemned it. Last week he drew attention online after pushing back on a town hall questioner, saying the assumption that a Muslim would owe loyalty to something other than the Constitution was unfair. Asked on "Meet the Press" whether he shared Trump's characterizations, Rogers said the race pits him against El-Sayed and that he has never called his opponent a terrorist.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →