Detroit Race Tightens as Trump Targets El-Sayed's Faith
The presidential attacks on the Democratic candidate center on gas prices and war, while his Republican rival pushes a Muslim Brotherhood link.
By Petra Garnier ·
President Donald Trump accused Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed of wanting to impose Sharia law on the United States during a Michigan rally on Sunday. The remarks place the presidential campaign directly into the state's tightest congressional contest, a race that could determine the Senate majority for the next two years.
El-Sayed dismissed the comments at a Monday news conference in Detroit. He described the attacks as deflections and deceptions based on no evidence. He argued that Republicans are avoiding the issues Americans face, such as petrol prices and the war on Iran, by focusing on his religious identity.
“They have nothing to say about solving the problems in your life. They’re not talking about you,” El-Sayed said. He noted that the administration is not addressing gas costs, groceries, clean air, or clean water. He asserted that Trump created those problems.
During the Sunday rally, Trump claimed El-Sayed would need to pass through a metal detector before entering the Senate. “I want him to have a metal detector,” the president said. El-Sayed laughed off the physical threat comment, referencing his alma mater, the University of Michigan, and its Wolverine sports teams.
Former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, El-Sayed’s main opponent, has also linked the Democrat to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Rogers has made these allegations a central point of his campaign. El-Sayed said most Americans reject such characterizations.
“There are always a few small people who want to make America small like that. You see them; they’re very loud, and they bark,” El-Sayed said. He claimed the vast majority of Michiganders believe in a big, open-minded America. He added that the state's residents are bigger than the attempts to make them small.
El-Sayed also addressed Trump’s mockery of his name, which the president misidentified as Mohamed. El-Sayed stated that his name and faith are not the reasons voters cannot afford gas, groceries, rent, mortgages, or medical care.
Source: Al Jazeera
