Trump calls Democrat El-Sayed 'man of hate' after Michigan primary victory

The US president accused Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of hating Jews and Israel, while the candidate rejected antisemitism and defended his positions on Gaza and US aid to Israel

By Josh Wingrove

 

President Donald Trump accused Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed of being a “communist” who “hates” Jews and Israel, taking aim at the candidate running in one of the country’s highest-profile US Senate races.  

Trump on Wednesday unleashed a torrent of criticism against El-Sayed, the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary, over his stance on Israel and predicted he would lose to the Republican candidate, Mike Rogers. 

 

El-Sayed has not publicly said he hates Jews. He has accused the Israeli government of carrying out a “genocide” during its war in Gaza, supports cutting off aid to Israel and has questioned its right to exist as a Jewish state. On Wednesday, El-Sayed sought to appeal to Jewish voters, saying he was committed to their safety and condemning antisemitism. He has also said he is a capitalist.

 

 

“He hates Jews and he hates Israel,” Trump said of El-Sayed at an event in Las Vegas. “He’s a man of hate, and now he’s going around saying, ‘No, I love everybody.’ He doesn’t love everybody. Put him in office. You’re gonna find out what he loves.”

 

Trump himself has a history of invoking antisemitic tropes and throughout his decades in public life, has used insulting language to describe immigrants and minorities. During his 2024 campaign, Trump said “Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss” if they voted for Democrat Kamala Harris and complained he had not received enough credit over his support for Israel. 

 

Trump said El-Sayed’s brand of politics would bring “filth, crime, death, destruction, embarrassment.”

 

“You lose your home, you lose your apartment, and that’s where the communists will take us 100 per cent,” Trump added. “When I watch Abdul, he’s full of s—-.”

 

Asked on CNN to respond to Trump’s comments, El-Sayed said: “He’s more focused on me and what I’m going to do while we’re living through an affordability crisis that is generational. People are paying nearly $5 in gas because of a war he started,” 

 

Trump’s attacks highlight the stakes of the contest in Michigan, a battleground race that could help decide control of the US Senate.

 

El-Sayed, a physician and public health official, prevailed against Representative Haley Stevens in the primary, which was a high-profile proxy contest between the Democratic Party’s progressive and establishment wings. November’s general election is expected to attract widespread national attention and money. 

 

The president previewed some of his attacks against El-Sayed earlier Wednesday, posting on social media that his victory in the primary a day earlier was “great news for the Republican Party” because of his positions.

 

El-Sayed’s narrow defeat of Stevens in Tuesday’s primary is a victory that energises progressives but also portends a reckoning within the party over ideological fissures, including support for Israel as well as sweeping changes to taxes and government healthcare programs.

 

Trump’s fellow Republicans are in danger of losing control of Congress in November, thanks in large part to his plummeting approval ratings, as voters blame the GOP for persistent inflation and give the president poor marks for his handling of the war in Iran.

 

The president has sought to turn the tables by labeling Democrats as too extreme. The president intensified his rhetoric after a string of wins by progressive candidates, including those backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling them “communists” who represent “the greatest threat to our country in its history.”

 

Trump, however, has struggled to settle on a consistent midterm message. His speeches are often wide ranging and are filled with asides about his pet issues and personal grievances, including his renovation projects in Washington and false allegations that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud.

 

The president without evidence earlier Wednesday said Detroit is “is one of the most corrupt voting areas in the United States” and suggested that Republicans might be at a disadvantage as a result.

 

“The Radical Left Socialist has a real shot, and don’t discount all of those fake mail-in ballots that will ‘surprisingly’ show up at the last moment. Get ready for another Rigged Election. In November we must VOTE FOR MIKE ROGERS, and make Michigan TOO BIG TO RIG,” he posted on social media.