Trump at Port Huron, Mich. rally calls Senate candidate El-Sayed a "jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member"; claims lack evidence (Oct. 25, 2026)

Case

At a Michigan rally on Oct. 25, 2026, nine days before the midterms, Trump said he was there to keep "a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member" from becoming a senator, referring to Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, and warned of "hoards of jihadists." Coverage found no evidence El-Sayed was ever a Muslim Brotherhood member; El-Sayed has denied family ties and critics call the remarks anti-Muslim. Trump also called Gov. nominee Jocelyn Benson "a thief" and repeated that the 2020 election was stolen.

What Trump said (Oct. 25, 2026, Port Huron, Mich.)
At a rally at McMorran Place in Port Huron, Trump said: "I'm here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator," referring to Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (quote as reported by CBS News Detroit; Michigan Advance renders it with an ellipsis). Quotes are from news reports, not an official transcript; check against a transcript before moving to the hub.
Trump also said: "If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hoards of jihadists to our shores" (spelling as printed by Michigan Advance; Al Jazeera prints "hordes"). Al Jazeera also reports he said El-Sayed "wants our country to go to Sharia law" and "I want him to have a metal detector."
Trump said of Jewish voters: "any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves."
Trump called Democratic governor nominee Jocelyn Benson "a thief," said "Bad things happen with the vote counter," urged attendees to watch Detroit votes, and again claimed the 2020 election was stolen, per Michigan Advance. Benson responded that "no amount of lies, threats, or election denialism" would change record turnout.
Earlier, in an Oct. 8 Truth Social post, Trump wrote that El-Sayed "goes back to the days of the Jihad" and called him a "RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer." El-Sayed responded: "He thinks so low of us."

What the record shows
Al Jazeera reports there is no evidence El-Sayed was ever a Muslim Brotherhood member or part of a foreign organization; he is a US-born citizen and former public health official.
The Washington Free Beacon found old social posts by El-Sayed's half-sister, including a 2012 post reading "My family has long been MB." The TNND/Sinclair report says there is no evidence El-Sayed was personally involved and that family ties remain unconfirmed.
In an NBC interview, El-Sayed answered "No" when asked whether he or his family has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood; at a town hall he said "absolutely" when asked whether he would disavow it.
Republican candidate Mike Rogers has said El-Sayed takes money from people who support Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda; the reports found no evidence offered for this.
Al Jazeera notes the remarks build on Trump's 2015 call for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the US and the 2017 travel ban.
CBS News Detroit said El-Sayed's campaign had not replied to a request for comment at publication; Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel said Michigan Republicans were "fully endorsing" Trump's agenda.
Michigan Public's Oct. 24 fact-check of Rogers's claims found the assertion that El-Sayed's birth mother helped funnel money to al-Qaida unsupported. She worked as a nurse at a Kenyan orphanage run by IARA-USA, whose parent group's leaders were convicted of Iraq sanctions violations, and she is not named in the indictment.
The same fact-check found the Muslim Brotherhood family claim unsupported by the evidence presented. It rests mainly on three 2012-2013 posts by his half-sister about his mother's time in Egypt in the 1970s, and El-Sayed has denied any family membership. It says Rogers offered no evidence for Hezbollah or Hamas links.
Michigan Public reports Trump also called El-Sayed "on the side of the terrorists," repeatedly invoked 9/11 and the Flight 93 passengers, and attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, called the remarks racist and said they cross a red line. El-Sayed spokesperson Cole Wozniak said opponents "resort to desperate, bad faith attacks."
Rogers denied the attacks are about El-Sayed's religion, and Rogers ally former Rep. Mike Bishop said he does not think they are Islamophobic, attributing them to a need to energize the Republican base. Neither the Rogers campaign nor the White House had commented on Trump's rally remarks at publication.

Perspectives

Defender — Mike Rogers (R) campaign and Trump allies, in their own terms
Rogers says voters deserve scrutiny of El-Sayed's family and funding, citing the half-sister's posts and what he describes as donations from people who support extremist groups. On this view, the attacks concern alleged associations and national security, not El-Sayed's faith. Trump has framed his aim as keeping a Muslim Brotherhood member out of the Senate. The reports reviewed found no evidence for the funding claim and no evidence El-Sayed was personally involved in the group. No White House or Rogers campaign response to the rally was found at publication.

Critic — Abdul El-Sayed (D) and Michigan Democrats
El-Sayed denies any Muslim Brotherhood ties for himself or his family and says Trump uses his name and faith as a distraction from prices and healthcare ("He thinks so low of us," Oct. 8). Michigan Democratic chair Curtis Hertel said Michigan Republicans are fully endorsing Trump's agenda. Al Jazeera characterizes the claims as unfounded and the rhetoric as Islamophobic.

Note
Trump and Republican candidate Mike Rogers say El-Sayed's family has Muslim Brotherhood links; El-Sayed denies any ties and no reporting found evidence he was personally involved.

Sources
[1] Michigan Advance — Trump invokes anti-Muslim rhetoric to attack El-Sayed at Michigan rally (https://michiganadvance.com/2026/10/25/trump-invokes-anti-muslim-rhetoric-to-attack-el-sayed-at-michigan-rally-supporting-rogers-james/) · 2026-10-25
[2] CBS News Detroit — Trump attacks El-Sayed over his faith during Michigan rally (https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/president-trump-port-huron-rally-republicans/) · 2026-10-25
[3] Al Jazeera — Trump dials up Islamophobia at Michigan Senate rally (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/26/trump-dials-up-islamophobia-at-michigan-senate-rally-against-abdul-el-sayed) · 2026-10-26
[4] TNND via WSET — Tight Michigan Senate race roiled by scrutiny of El-Sayed family Muslim Brotherhood claims (https://wset.com/news/nation-world/tight-michigan-senate-race-roiled-by-scrutiny-of-el-sayed-family-muslim-brotherhood-claims-terrorist-group-egypt-saudi-arabia-united-arab-emirates-half-sister-social-media-posts-mb-mike-rogers-politics-midterms) · 2026-10-13
[5] TNND via WSET — Trump targets Senate seeker El-Sayed over Islamic faith (Oct. 8 Truth Social post) (https://wset.com/news/nation-world/president-trump-targets-senate-seeker-abdul-el-sayed-over-islamic-muslim-faith-midterm-election-2026) · 2026-10-08
[6] Michigan Public — Fact check: Rogers' claims about El-Sayed's mother don't match the evidence (https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-10-24/fact-check-rogers-claims-about-el-sayeds-mother-dont-match-the-evidence) · 2026-10-24
[7] Michigan Public — Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan, drawing Arab American rebuke (https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-10-25/trump-escalates-anti-muslim-attacks-against-el-sayed-in-michigan-drawing-arab-american-rebuke) · 2026-10-25

Connections

Same context — Election denial and interference efforts before the Nov. 2026 midterms: pardons, the Tina Peters case, Georgia's federal-intervention letters and National Guard troops near a DC ballot box
Same rally includes renewed 2020 stolen-election claims and a warning about Detroit vote counting ahead of the midterms.

Same actor — Trump's documented degrading and dehumanizing statements about people (hub)
Dated verbatim rally quotes about a candidate's faith; ready to move into the hub once checked against a transcript.