Bishara Bahbah, a founder of a group that helped President Donald Trump court Arab American voters, called his attack on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed racist in an interview with The Associated Press.
The rebuke followed Trump’s Sunday rally in Port Huron for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Rogers and El-Sayed are seeking the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. AP reported that the race could help determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member,” according to a CNN broadcast transcript. He also said El-Sayed should face metal-detector screening before entering the Senate. Trump invoked the passengers who resisted hijackers aboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, in an appeal to keep El-Sayed out of the Senate.
El-Sayed has denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. AP reported no evidence linking him to the group. The outlet also reported that El-Sayed would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected. At the candidates’ final debate, El-Sayed answered a question about his loyalty by saying, “I’m proud to be an American,” AP reported.
“They are racist,” Bahbah told AP of Trump’s remarks. AP reported that Arab Americans for Trump helped the president reach Arab American voters in 2024 and has since changed its name to Arab Americans for Peace. Dearborn, Michigan, backed a Republican presidential nominee that year for the first time since 2000, AP reported.
AP described Trump’s attacks as an effort to increase Republican turnout amid voter frustration over inflation, fuel prices and the Iran war.
Michigan’s early in-person voting runs through Nov. 1, according to the secretary of state’s election calendar. The general election is Nov. 3.
