Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has fired back at President Trump, telling supporters the president will be calling him “Senator Mohamed” if he wins in November. The remark came after Trump claimed El-Sayed would “have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate.”
As reported by The Hill, El-Sayed addressed Trump’s comments at a rally in Grand Rapids on Sunday, October 25. “I get that the president of the United States takes personal offense to my first name,” he said, adding that Trump does not seem to mind the name when it is shared by Saudis funding his son-in-law’s private equity or Qataris giving him a $400 million private jet.
“He just seems to have trouble pronouncing it when it’s my name,” El-Sayed said. “But y’all, I don’t care how he pronounces my name. I don’t even care that he remembers my whole name. Because he can just go on and call me ‘senator’ after November. I will be Senator Mohamed to you, bro.”
Trump’s rhetoric toward El-Sayed escalated at the Port Huron rally
El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, would be the first Muslim American to serve in the Senate if elected. He is Muslim and was born in Michigan to Egyptian immigrant parents.
Trump has frequently attacked El-Sayed’s faith on the campaign trail, mocking his name and alleging ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group founded in Egypt. The president has also called the Detroit-area physician a “terrorist sympathizer” and a “jihadist,” often referring to him as “Mohamed El-Sayed.”
Trump made the metal detector remark while rallying in Port Huron for El-Sayed’s opponent, Republican nominee Mike Rogers. He also reportedly invoked the September 11, 2001, attacks, introducing David Beamer, whose son Todd Beamer died aboard United Flight 93. “Twenty-five years later, Michigan needs to stand up and fight just like Todd did to stop a jihadist from walking into the Capitol,” Trump said.
Rogers has also tied El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, saying at the same rally that the group “celebrated exactly one victory in the United States in the primary this year. Abdul El-Sayed’s.” When pressed on NBC News by host Kristen Welker about Trump’s harshest language, however, Rogers distanced himself from it.
“I’ve never called him a terrorist,” Rogers said. “This election is about me versus Abdul. I mean, he’s a Democrat Socialist of America-aligned candidate who has these pretty radical support groups that don’t like America.”
Rogers also claimed El-Sayed “just won’t answer the question” about any alleged connection to the Muslim Brotherhood. He added that his opponent “is getting money from groups that support the Muslim Brotherhood. Money from groups that support Hamas and Hezbollah.”
El-Sayed has denied any personal ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Republicans have reportedly pointed to past statements by El-Sayed that they say are sympathetic to the Islamist movement, which briefly held power in Egypt in 2012 and 2013.
Published: Oct 26, 2026 02:00 pm