Michigan Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed snapped back at President Donald Trump's late-night Islamophobic Truth Social tirade, where he repeatedly called him "Mohammed" and a "terrorist sympathizer."
The night before the first Senate debate between El-Sayed and Republican Senate candidate Rep. Mike Rogers, Trump on Oct. 7 also called El-Sayed "a RADICAL Extremist," adding that "Mohammed’s Values are not exactly those of Michiganders, or those of our Great United States of America!" The president reiterated his "TOTAL ENDORSEMENT" for Rogers.
El-Sayed, seeking to be the first Muslim U.S. senator, responded Oct. 8, saying Trump knows his "name is Abdul" and that the president says it daily.
"But he’s not just attacking me. He’s attacking all
of us. He thinks so low of us," El-Sayed said about the president in a post on X. "He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office. He thinks we don’t know any better.
"It’s time for change," added El-Sayed, a former public health official who won a contentious Democratic Senate primary against Rep. Hayley Stevens in August to secure the Democratic nomination for Senate.
Trump's comments and El-Sayed's response come as many polls show a tight race between El-Sayed and Rogers, capturing national attention as the Senate election is critical to Democrats' quest to take control of the Senate. Their Oct. 8 debate arrives as more than 200,000 Michiganders have already cast absentee ballots.
El-Sayed, Rogers finally scheduled for first debate
A day after winning the Democratic Senate primary, El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, sent a message to Rogers, Trump and other Republicans during his victory speech ahead of possible attacks during the campaign trail.
"They think they want to use my whole name against me. Mike, listen, man, if you can’t say the name — it’s Abdulrahman — keep the name out of your damn mouth," El-Sayed said. "I’ll be happy to give you lessons."
Also at that speech, El-Sayed challenged Rogers to five debates. Although Rogers skipped a Sept. 15 debate against El-Sayed in Detroit over moderator issues, the two candidates are scheduled to finally take the stage Oct. 8 in Grand Rapids for their first face-to-face encounter.
A progressive and self-proclaimed capitalist candidate endorsed by former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, El-Sayed has energized fellow progressives and young voters. However, El-Sayed has some moderate Democrats concerned about his views, his tense relations with local Jewish communities and his ability to win retiring Democrat Sen. Gary Peters' seat against Rogers.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abdul El-Sayed responds to President Trump's Truth Social attack
