Trump: Michigan Senate Candidate El-Sayed Is "Jihadist"

President Donald Trump escalated his political assault on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for US Senate from Michigan, at a rally Sunday in Port Huron near the Canadian border, warning against the possibility of a radical Muslim reaching one of the most powerful positions in the United States.

Trump called El-Sayed a "jihadist" and said he "stands with the terrorists." The president said El-Sayed would need to pass through a metal detector before being allowed to enter the Senate chamber.

Trump repeatedly invoked the September 11, 2001 attacks, comparing the need to stop El-Sayed from entering the Senate to the struggle of passengers on Flight 93 against the hijackers. The president declared he had come to Michigan to prevent "a member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, who is a Muslim jihadist," from becoming an American senator.

The attack is part of Trump's effort to turn the Michigan Senate race into a battle over national security and not just another routine partisan contest. The race between El-Sayed and Republican candidate Mike Rogers is considered one of the contests that could determine which party controls the US Senate.

El-Sayed, who previously served in a public health role in Detroit, could become the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate if he wins the election. He rejects the accusations against him and calls claims about his disloyalty to the country "shameful." He says he has no connection to extremist organizations.

El-Sayed responded to Trump at a rally he held later in the day in Grand Rapids. He said he is not bothered by how the president pronounces his name or portrays him, and told his supporters: "I don't even care if he remembers my full name, because after November he can just call me 'Senator.'"