President Donald Trump has accused Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, urging voters not to support him in a video posted on Truth Social.
Trump called El-Sayed a "Muslim radical" and said he was a member of the Islamist organization, despite the candidate denying any connection to the group.
"To the people of Michigan: Mohamed El-Sayed is bad news. He's a Muslim radical. He's a Muslim Brotherhood member, even though he denies it," Trump said in the video posted on Thursday. "All you have to do is look at his past correspondence, and we cannot take a chance on having this guy be in the United States Senate."
Trump went on to endorse Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, describing him as someone who would help "make America great again."
He also accused El-Sayed of hating the United States, and urged Michigan voters not to elect him.
"Mohammed is about making America terrible like it was just two years ago. We were in the Dark Ages. Now we're in the Golden Age of America. Let's keep it that way," Trump said. "Don't vote for Mohammed al-Sayed. He's not for us, and he hates our country."
Newsweek has contacted El-Sayed's campaign for comment by email.
...
What Is Behind Trump’s Claims?
The latest controversy follows the resurfacing of posts written by El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, in 2012.
In one post, Abdelhadi wrote: "Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect."
In another, she referred to her family as having long-standing connections to the organization.
El-Sayed has repeatedly denied any personal or family ties to the organization, dismissing the claims as "hearsay." Abdelhadi's posts do not establish any connection between El-Sayed and the organization.
The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928. Its status varies internationally, with some governments designating the organization or particular branches as terrorist groups, while others have not.
What Has El-Sayed Said in Response?
In an interview with NBC that aired on Thursday, El-Sayed rejected the allegations and challenged the relevance of his half-sister's social media posts.
"I have no ties. We have no ties," he told NBC.
When asked whether his mother had connections to the organization, El-Sayed said he had never discussed the matter with her.
"I have never had these conversations with my mother. I wasn't raised by my mother," he said.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, was born in Michigan and raised in the Wolverine State by his father and American stepmother following his parents' divorce.
The progressive also questioned why he was being asked to account for alleged activity during the 1970s, as he was born in 1984.
"You're using hearsay evidence from a tweet," he said, dismissing the claims as "just not serious."
El-Sayed has argued that his record in public service—including his work as Detroit's health department director—should be the focus of scrutiny, rather than allegations based on relatives' statements.
The candidate has also described the attacks against him as an attempt to exploit his Muslim faith and background for political purposes.
...
JD Vance Accuses El-Sayed of Defending Terrorist
Trump's allegations follow a separate comments by Vice President JD Vance, who criticized El-Sayed over his response to an attack on a Michigan synagogue earlier this year.
Speaking at a political event in Monroe, Michigan, on Thursday, Vance accused the Democratic candidate of defending the attacker.
"This foreign-born jihadist, a literal terrorist, rammed his truck into the temple and opened fire, hoping to kill hundreds of innocent Jewish schoolchildren, our fellow Americans, inside," Vance said.
"And do you know what Abdul El-Sayed said when confronted with that? He said, and I quote, 'Hurt people hurt people,'" he continued.
Vance argued that El-Sayed had shown sympathy toward the attacker rather than the victims.
The attack took place at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, a suburb of Detroit, in March. The attacker, Ayman Ghazali, drove a vehicle into the synagogue and opened fire on a security guard before dying by suicide. The attack started a fire, and a security guard was also left injured.
Ghazali was a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, and authorities said he had lost family members in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon shortly before the attack.
El-Sayed later apologized for his comments. "To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I'm really sorry. That was not my intention," he told reporters after addressing the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at the state party's convention in Lansing.
"My comments might have been misconstrued to be justifying something I did not intend to justify," he added.
...
Where Does El-Sayed Stand in Michigan Senate Race?
El-Sayed and Rogers are competing for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, which retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters is vacating.
A physician and epidemiologist who previously led Detroit's health department, El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination with a campaign promoting progressive policies, including Medicare for all.
Rogers, a former Republican congressman and FBI agent, has Trump's endorsement and is hoping to flip a seat Democrats have held since 1979.
The contest is among the most closely watched races this election cycle as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of the Senate in next month's midterms.
According to the RealClearPolitics' polling average, El-Sayed was polling at 48.4 percent against Rogers' 45.7 percent as of October 10—a lead of 2.7 percentage points.
Other individual surveys have also shown a close contest. An InsiderAdvantage poll of 1,200 likely voters conducted on October 9-10 showed El-Sayed with 48 percent to Rogers' 46 percent. Meanwhile, a Quantus Insights poll conducted October 5-6 was even closer, showing El-Sayed with 48 percent to Rogers' 47 percent.
The figures indicate a competitive race, with the latest polling showing El-Sayed narrowly ahead.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Shakeema Edwards.