Trump praises Haley Stevens' defection while lobbing Islamophobic insults at El-Sayed – video

President Donald Trump used a rally in Iowa to applaud Representative Haley Stevens for leaving her party's ranks to back Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate contest, and he invited her to become a Republican. Her endorsement of Rogers puts her against the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive whose campaign has drawn growing national attention as Election Day nears, according to The Guardian.

The president then turned on El-Sayed, who is Muslim, and labeled him a "jihadist." The Guardian describes the remark as part of a continuing series of Islamophobic attacks on the nominee, and it also reports that Trump delivered what it calls a racist tirade against him from the stage. Vice President JD Vance has likewise sharpened his criticism of El-Sayed in recent days.

El-Sayed has responded by embracing the idea that he stands for a very different America. Former President Barack Obama appeared with him at a Michigan rally, praising his candidacy and criticizing Trump. In earlier coverage, El-Sayed also pushed back when Stevens tried to press him on Israel. He has argued that Democrats need lopsided victories to blunt any attempt by Trump to contest the election outcome.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →