Trump escalates rhetoric against Muslim candidates ahead of midterms

President Donald Trump has intensified his verbal attacks on Democratic candidates ahead of the November midterm elections, describing them as "jihadists" and singling out Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, in a series of inflammatory remarks. The comments, made in the Oval Office on Monday, come as the campaign season heats up with less than 90 days until Election Day and all 435 House seats and 34 Senate seats up for grabs.

"We have jihadists being elected all over the place, whether it's communism [or] jihadism," Trump told reporters, according to Al Jazeera. He attributed the term to a friend's suggestion, saying, "A friend of mine called up, he said, 'You know […] you should use the word jihadist', that's what's happening. If you take a look at what's happening in other countries, I'm not really sure that's the way we want to live."

The president also targeted people of Somali descent, calling them "not smart" and saying they have "no aptitude" and "nothing going" for them to "tell us how to run our country," as reported by Al Jazeera.

Attacks on El-Sayed

While Trump did not name El-Sayed directly in his Oval Office remarks, he has repeatedly attacked the candidate on social media and in speeches. Earlier this month, Trump spoke at a rally in Michigan for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, where he said El-Sayed, a Muslim and a Democratic Socialist, was "full of shit," according to BuzzFeed.

On Truth Social, Trump shared a photo of El-Sayed with two women in headscarves, captioning it "They are coming for your home and your belongings," and called El-Sayed a "hater of Jews" and "hater of Israel" who would bring "filth, crime, death, destruction, embarrassment." In another post, he compared himself and First Lady Melania Trump with El-Sayed and his wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, captioned "Two VERY DIFFERENT America's."

El-Sayed has pushed back. On CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper, he said, "Sarah and I actually like each other" and added that he didn't know about the first lady and the president, but "it's a bit of a rocky road," as reported by Al Jazeera.

El-Sayed also took aim at the president's health in an interview posted Sunday with MeidasTouch, where journalist Jack Cocchiarella asked if he had been thinking about Trump's health. El-Sayed, who holds a medical degree, hinted at incontinence, saying "he can't seem to keep it in!" and that "two can play at the game," according to BuzzFeed.

The White House responded to a request for comment on El-Sayed's remarks. Spokesman Davis Ingle issued a statement saying, "Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, who wants to massively raise taxes and defund the police, was just recently exposed for saying American football is 'toxic masculinity' and trashing Thanksgiving. Everything this radical says is bullshit," as reported by BuzzFeed.

Republican figures echo anti-Muslim rhetoric

The president's remarks have been amplified by other Republican figures, according to Al Jazeera. Representative Nancy Mace claimed on social media that "every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic." Senator Tommy Tuberville labeled El-Sayed a "TERRORIST" and wrote that "Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is a RADICAL ISLAMIST."

Advocacy groups raise concerns

Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said that Trump's "hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric" is "putting a target on the back of Muslim elected officials across our nation" and that "this type of dangerous rhetoric is fueling the surge in complaints of anti-Muslim bigotry that our civil rights organization has documented over the past three years," as reported by Al Jazeera.