Trump closes midterm campaign with crude and racist attacks on El-Sayed

President invokes 9/11 and a metal detector joke in Michigan as Obama and Sanders hit back

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published26 October 2026

Updated26 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Sources4 outlets

President Donald Trump has spent the final weekend before the US midterms mixing crude comedy with overtly racist attacks on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, prompting condemnations from Bernie Sanders and a mocking Trump-style response from Barack Obama at a rival Detroit rally.

With polling day approaching, Trump has moved from policy to personal and racial attack. At a Sunday rally in Michigan he described the Democratic candidate El-Sayed as a "vicious, violent jihadist", repeatedly called him "Mohamed", and said he "would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate". He invoked the September 11, 2001, attacks and brought David Beamer, father of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, to the stage. Beamer said a birth certificate "doesn't make you American" and called El-Sayed "anti-American."

El-Sayed, who was born in Rochester Hills, Michigan, has faced questions about alleged links between members of his Egyptian family and the Muslim Brotherhood, and was slow to disavow remarks by his friend Hasan Piker, a podcaster who the article says professes to hate America. El-Sayed argues he faces these questions because he is Muslim. His campaign recently launched an ad featuring right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson.

Trump's weekend appearances also included a joke about Nicki Minaj's buttocks and a complaint that Norway "sucks." In Georgia he boasted that the US oil and gas industry was "making a freakin' fortune" while Americans pay higher prices at the pump.

The attacks drew a response from Senator Bernie Sanders, who campaigned with El-Sayed on Sunday. Trump "may be a mentally unbalanced person, but he is not stupid," Sanders said, arguing the president is dividing people to stay in power. Barack Obama, rallying for El-Sayed in Detroit, mocked the president's White House renovations: "He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." Conservatives condemned that line, while author and former US correspondent Nick Bryant noted Trump has a history of dialling up "racist demagoguery" as polling day nears.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

Trump's closing message relies on racial and religious attacks that could define the Michigan Senate race and the final days of the campaign.
The Michigan contest is part of the fight for control of the US Senate, and both parties are sending their biggest names to the state.
Obama's unusually personal counterpunch signals that the final stretch will be fought at an aggressive, personal pitch.

Background

With days to go before the US midterms, Trump has sharpened his rhetoric as elections near, according to author and former US correspondent Nick Bryant, who covered Trump's first administration. El-Sayed, a Democrat running in Michigan, has been forced to respond to questions about alleged family links to the Muslim Brotherhood and to remarks by his friend Hasan Piker, which he argues he faces only because he is Muslim.

Key Perspectives

Donald Trump: says El-Sayed is a "vicious, violent jihadist," calls him "Mohamed," and says he would need a metal detector before entering the Senate. David Beamer: says a birth certificate "doesn't make you American," and calls El-Sayed "anti-American." Bernie Sanders: says Trump "may be a mentally unbalanced person, but he is not stupid," and that he divides people to stay in power. Barack Obama: mocked Trump's White House renovations, saying it looks like "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." Adrian Hemond: says the Michigan campaign's rhetoric is so bad that "a shit-house rat smells better than this campaign." Nick Bryant: says Trump has a history of turning to "racist demagoguery" when in political strife or as polling day nears.

What to Watch

Whether El-Sayed can turn the attacks into a surge of support before Michigan voters cast their ballots.
Whether Trump escalates further in his remaining rallies and how Democrats respond.
Any political fallout from Obama's Cheesecake Factory line, which conservatives have already condemned.

Sources

Trump’s election rallies are getting weirder and looser – and more racist · The Sydney Morning Herald
Trump’s election rallies are getting weirder and looser – and more racist · WAtoday
Trump’s election rallies are getting weirder and looser – and more racist · Brisbane Times
El Sayed mocks Rogers’s ‘earpiece’ and Trump’s ‘a**’ remarks in Grand Rapids rally · Washington Examiner

Checked

11 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 7 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedTrump closed the midterm campaign with crude and racist attacks on El-Sayed.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “As polling day nears, the US president’s daily rally speeches have become looser and less inhibited.”
Sources say otherwiseObama and Sanders hit back together at a rival Detroit rally.Washington Examiner: “Abdul el Sayed turned his Sunday rally appearance with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) into a roast of his Republican Senate rival Mike Rogers and President Donald Trump.”
Not in the sourcesTrump spent the final weekend before the midterms campaigning.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “As polling day nears, the US president’s daily rally speeches have become looser and less inhibited.”
SupportedTrump invoked the September 11 attacks in Michigan.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Trump also invoked the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks perpetrated against America by Islamic jihadists”
SupportedTrump called El-Sayed a “vicious, violent jihadist.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “The president has labelled Democratic candidate for the US Senate Abdul El-Sayed a “vicious, violent jihadist”.”
SupportedTrump said El-Sayed would be the only senator who would have to go through a metal detector.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate,” the president said of El-Sayed.”
SupportedDavid Beamer said a birth certificate does not make El-Sayed American.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““Abdul has a birth certificate. A birth certificate says he’s a citizen of America. You know what? A birth certificate doesn’t make you American,” Beamer said to applause.”
SupportedSanders said Trump “may be a mentally unbalanced person, but he is not stupid.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““Trump may be a mentally unbalanced person, but he is not stupid,” Sanders said.”
SupportedObama said Trump had the White House looking like “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.””
Partly supportedEl-Sayed was slow to disavow remarks by his friend Hasan Piker.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “He was slow to disavow such groups, arguing he shouldn’t have to, and to distance himself from remarks by his friend Hasan Piker”
SupportedTrump said in Georgia, “We’re making a freakin’ fortune,” while Americans paid higher prices for petrol.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Over the weekend, Trump boasted to a crowd in Georgia that the US oil and gas industry was making billions of dollars – trillions, even – while Americans paid higher prices for petrol due to the war with Iran. ... “We’re making a freakin’ fortune.””