Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan

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Donald Trump intensified his anti-Muslim rhetoric against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday, portraying him as a threat to national security.

The president also questioned his loyalty to the United States in remarks that drew a sharp rebuke from a former top Arab American ally. Trump called El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, a “jihadist” who was “on the side of the terrorists” and would “have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate.”

He also repeatedly invoked 9/11, drawing a comparison between stopping El-Sayed from entering the Senate chamber and the passengers who fought back against the hijackers aboard United Flight 93, AP reported.

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.”

Trump also reiterated his apparent love for buxom bums and encouraged the crowd to compliment rapper Nicki Minaj’s behind. The comments about Minaj’s derriere came as he explained his recent observation on the Republican Ohio senator Jon Husted’s rear end.

Earlier in October, Trump said of the former college football player: “I don’t do this with men very often. I started examining his body, because I didn’t know he was a great athlete. And I looked and I watched up and down. I looked at his ass and I looked at the whole – and then I looked at his hands. Look at his hands. He’s got these, like, claws.”

“You are a great athlete,” Trump also said to Husted. “Congratulations.” Trump was speaking at the rally to support Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican Senate candidate.

Read our full report here:

In other developments:

  • Mary Peltola, a Democrat who is running for Alaska’s lone US Senate seat, and her family suffered minor injuries in a car crash while driving to a campaign stop on Saturday, her campaign said. The family was on its way to the Alaska Federation of Natives annual banquet when another vehicle crashed into the one transporting Peltola and her family, her campaign said in a statement on Sunday. Peltola required medical attention after the collision.

  • Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s attorney general, lashed out during an interview on Sunday while defending the justice department’s pre-emptive lawsuit to block certification of Alaska’s US Senate results if the GOP incumbent loses, calling a TV host’s question “crazy”. The testy repartee unfolded on CNN’s State of the Union over the DoJ’s unprecedented legal action, which alleges that there could be “voter confusion” due to two candidates named Dan Sullivan on Alaska’s ballot. Trump told reporters, “I’m the one that said do it” when asked about the suit.

  • The US military has given Elon Musk’s SpaceX access to restricted space tracking data, raising a new round of questions about whether the Trump administration is attempting to hand over traffic control in Earth’s orbit to a controversial donor. The access also raises new national security questions, industry observers say.

  • Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) has decreased significantly over the past year in the US following restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, which has forced more people to seek help from food banks or go hungry, stakeholders say. The number of people who receive food stamps has dropped from 41.6 million in July 2025, before the One Big Beautiful Act took effect, to 36.5 million in June 2026, a 13% decrease, according to the latest data from the US Department of Agriculture, which administers the program.

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Trump calls Bill Maher a ‘total loser’ in 1,300-word Truth Social rant

Donald Trump launched a 1,300-word social media rant against late-night US TV host Bill Maher yesterday evening, calling him a “TOTAL LOSER” in a fresh assault on the media.

“Let’s talk about this COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER, Bill Maher,” the US president wrote. “He’s got a Low Rated Show on equally Low Rated HBO, which was once, long ago, a Network of Quality and Excitement – But that’s all gone.”

Trump’s lengthy and detailed post about Maher came after the host interviewed Karoline Leavitt, the former White House press secretary, on his program Real Time with Bill Maher.

Maher asked Leavitt about Trump’s “lame duck” presidency and whether the president would act on “vengeance” if Republicans largely lose to Democrats in next week’s midterms.

“I worry that if this election goes as badly as it looks like it’s going to go for him and the Republicans, we’re going to have a guy who doesn’t have as much power as he did … and we know he likes vengeance,” Maher told Leavitt.

Leavitt remained steadfast in her support for Trump and expressed confidence that Republicans could still outperform expectations.

Trump called Maher a “coward who is afraid to tell the truth about how well our Country is running”, claiming that Maher praised him behind the scenes but on television insults him with jokes.

“Also, turn your Laugh Machine off, it’s a joke when they laugh uncontrollably, even when you say nothing funny, and I’m going to have the Republicans not cover you anymore, because they try to talk about you as a guy who is transformative,” Trump wrote.

Trump has previously insulted late-night hosts and comedians on his platform and taken personal offense at those who make him the punchline. Earlier this year, Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel’s show to be terminated after the ABC late-night host joked about Melania Trump. Last year, the US president also called for Seth Meyers to be fired.

But Trump’s lengthy attack on Maher is notable, coming just about a week until the US midterm elections, where Republicans are trying to fend off challenges from Democratic opponents.

My colleague Ariana Baio has the story:

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