‘Deflections’: Abdul El-Sayed responds to Trump’s anti-Muslim attacks

What the report says

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Michigan, responded on Monday in Detroit to a new round of anti-Muslim attacks from President Donald Trump, saying the remarks were meant to distract voters from the president’s own record. El-Sayed said the criticism, including Trump’s accusation that he is a “jihadist,” was based on no evidence and was intended to shift attention away from issues such as fuel prices and the war on Iran, as Al Jazeera reported.

According to the article, Trump escalated the attacks at a Michigan rally on Sunday, repeating false claims about El-Sayed and suggesting he would need extra screening before entering the Senate. El-Sayed rejected the claims and mocked the idea that he posed a physical threat, while framing the attacks as political “deflections and deceptions.”

The race is significant because El-Sayed is in a close contest with former Republican congressman Mike Rogers, and the outcome could help determine control of the US Senate for the next two years. Al Jazeera reported that Rogers has also made unsubstantiated links between El-Sayed and groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah.

El-Sayed argued that most Michigan voters are focused on practical concerns, including gas, groceries, rent and access to health care, and said his faith and name are not responsible for those problems. More broadly, the episode reflects the growing role of identity-based attacks in US election politics, though the article centers on this specific campaign exchange.