President Donald Trump demanded that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed undergo mandatory metal detector screenings at the U.S. Capitol if elected in November’s midterm elections, leveling unsubstantiated allegations during a campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan.
“I’m here to keep a Jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator,” Trump told supporters Sunday afternoon, while casting his support behind Republican candidate Mike Rogers. Trump asserted without evidence that El-Sayed and his family possess terrorist ties, adding that the Democrat should face security checks far more stringent than those required of typical lawmakers.
“He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate. I want him to have a metal detector,” Trump said. He warned that an elected El-Sayed would gain access to classified national security secrets and wield influence over military, border, and homeland security policy.
El-Sayed has repeatedly and vehemently denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. During a recent town hall meeting in Caro, Michigan, the Democratic candidate directly addressed an attendee’s inquiry regarding potential dual loyalties by explicitly disavowing the organization.
“You’re asking the question because implicitly you assume that I’ll have dual loyalties,” El-Sayed told the crowd. “You assume that somehow I wouldn’t disavow, or that I’ll have some higher-order allegiance than to the Constitution. I’m gonna swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States. And that Constitution guarantees us all the right to practice whatever faith we want or no faith at all.”
The political battleground in Michigan remains fiercely contested, with a recent Marist poll showing El-Sayed leading Rogers 50 percent to 48 percent among likely voters as the November midterms approach.
High-profile surrogates have descended upon the state to bolster party prospects. Former Democratic President Barack Obama campaigned in Detroit on Saturday to rally support for El-Sayed, telling attendees that the candidate is fighting for genuine change.
Obama also used a separate Saturday rally in Cleveland, Ohio—held to support gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton—to criticize Trump over the ongoing conflict with Iran. The military campaign, launched in late February by Trump and Israel, has persisted for nearly eight months with no resolution in sight.
“Let’s think about this Iran war. The original rationale was, we’re going to go in there and get them to give up their nuclear program, their nuclear weapons,” Obama said, referencing the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that he brokered to restrict Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term.
The protracted conflict and persistent economic pressures are weighing heavily on the administration’s political standing ahead of the elections. A recent CBS News/YouGov poll indicated that 61 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s presidential job performance, compared to 39 percent who approve.
Voter dissatisfaction extends to key policy areas, with 67 percent disapproving of the administration’s handling of the economy and an equal 67 percent disapproving of the Iran war. Polling from the Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights that 83 percent of registered voters believe lowering the cost of living should be a top priority for the incoming Congress, while 72 percent view ending the conflict in Iran as a primary concern.
