Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan, drawing Arab American rebuke
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER El-Sayed, who would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected, has called attacks on his loyalty to the country “shameful” and repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups. The Republican president’s remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president’s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024. “The president’s statements are out of line,” he said in a phone interview. “They are crossing a red line. They are racist.” With Republicans on the defensive over inflation, soaring fuel prices and the Iran war, the president has been trying to generate turnout by claiming that El-Sayed and other Democrats are existential threats to America, instead of electoral rivals. Michigan’s Senate race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is among a handful of contests that…
