SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Democrat US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan speaks during a rally at the McMorran Theater in Port Huron, Michigan on October 6, 2026.
(Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)
'He Thinks We Don't Know Any Better,' Says El-Sayed After Latest Hateful Trump Attack
"He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor's office."
Oct 08, 2026
After President Donald Trump launched yet another hateful attack on Abdul El-Sayed's name and Muslim faith, the Democratic Michigan US Senate nominee on Thursday accused the Republican of trying to distract voters from the cost-of-living crisis caused by GOP policies.
"He knows my name is Abdul. He says it every day," El-Sayed said in a social media post. "But he's not just attacking me. He's attacking all of us. He thinks so low of us."
"He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor's office," the 41-year-old physician added. "He thinks we don't know any better. It's time for change."
Trump's latest bigoted broadside against El-Sayed came Wednesday on the president's Truth Social network, where he called the Democrat a "RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer" and repeatedly referred to him as "Mohammed." Trump also claimed that El-Sayed "goes back to the days of the Jihad."
The president also affirmed his "COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT" of El-Sayed's Republican opponent, former Congressman Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, won the Democratic nomination in August and, if elected next in next month's midterms, would be the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate.
Trump's latest comments are part of an escalating campaign against El-Sayed that is often more focused on his Muslim faith rather than his policy proposals.
Last month, the president posted side-by-side photographs of himself and First Lady Melania Trump and El-Sayed and his wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, under the misspelled caption "Two VERY DIFFERENT America's." The post was condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations as "racist and bigoted."
Trump has also falsely accused El-Sayed of hating Jewish people.
The attacks echo Trump's long record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and are, critics allege, partly meant to deflect attention from the failure of Republicans to deliver results for working people and the betrayal of the president's promises of no new wars and lower consumer costs.
"I invite the president to focus on what I'm saying," El-Sayed previously said. "I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After President Donald Trump launched yet another hateful attack on Abdul El-Sayed's name and Muslim faith, the Democratic Michigan US Senate nominee on Thursday accused the Republican of trying to distract voters from the cost-of-living crisis caused by GOP policies.
"He knows my name is Abdul. He says it every day," El-Sayed said in a social media post. "But he's not just attacking me. He's attacking all of us. He thinks so low of us."
"He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor's office," the 41-year-old physician added. "He thinks we don't know any better. It's time for change."
Trump's latest bigoted broadside against El-Sayed came Wednesday on the president's Truth Social network, where he called the Democrat a "RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer" and repeatedly referred to him as "Mohammed." Trump also claimed that El-Sayed "goes back to the days of the Jihad."
The president also affirmed his "COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT" of El-Sayed's Republican opponent, former Congressman Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, won the Democratic nomination in August and, if elected next in next month's midterms, would be the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate.
Trump's latest comments are part of an escalating campaign against El-Sayed that is often more focused on his Muslim faith rather than his policy proposals.
Last month, the president posted side-by-side photographs of himself and First Lady Melania Trump and El-Sayed and his wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, under the misspelled caption "Two VERY DIFFERENT America's." The post was condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations as "racist and bigoted."
Trump has also falsely accused El-Sayed of hating Jewish people.
The attacks echo Trump's long record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and are, critics allege, partly meant to deflect attention from the failure of Republicans to deliver results for working people and the betrayal of the president's promises of no new wars and lower consumer costs.
"I invite the president to focus on what I'm saying," El-Sayed previously said. "I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All."
From Your Site Articles
After President Donald Trump launched yet another hateful attack on Abdul El-Sayed's name and Muslim faith, the Democratic Michigan US Senate nominee on Thursday accused the Republican of trying to distract voters from the cost-of-living crisis caused by GOP policies.
"He knows my name is Abdul. He says it every day," El-Sayed said in a social media post. "But he's not just attacking me. He's attacking all of us. He thinks so low of us."
"He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor's office," the 41-year-old physician added. "He thinks we don't know any better. It's time for change."
Trump's latest bigoted broadside against El-Sayed came Wednesday on the president's Truth Social network, where he called the Democrat a "RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer" and repeatedly referred to him as "Mohammed." Trump also claimed that El-Sayed "goes back to the days of the Jihad."
The president also affirmed his "COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT" of El-Sayed's Republican opponent, former Congressman Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, won the Democratic nomination in August and, if elected next in next month's midterms, would be the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate.
Trump's latest comments are part of an escalating campaign against El-Sayed that is often more focused on his Muslim faith rather than his policy proposals.
Last month, the president posted side-by-side photographs of himself and First Lady Melania Trump and El-Sayed and his wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, under the misspelled caption "Two VERY DIFFERENT America's." The post was condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations as "racist and bigoted."
Trump has also falsely accused El-Sayed of hating Jewish people.
The attacks echo Trump's long record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and are, critics allege, partly meant to deflect attention from the failure of Republicans to deliver results for working people and the betrayal of the president's promises of no new wars and lower consumer costs.
"I invite the president to focus on what I'm saying," El-Sayed previously said. "I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy