DETROIT (The Thursday Times) — US President Donald Trump attacked Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed again in the early hours of polling day, posting that “only fools” would vote for the man who could become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.
“Abdul El-Sayed Hates Jews and Hates Blacks. Don’t feel bad, he also Hates Whites,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, claiming that El-Sayed would “100% do you in!” He offered no evidence. Trump has spent the closing weeks calling him a “jihadist”.
The post came hours after Haley Stevens, the Democratic congresswoman who dropped El-Sayed for his Republican rival on Sunday, gave her fullest explanation of the decision. “Mike Rogers and I disagree on many things. But Michigan has to elect a senator and there is no neutral choice that absolves me of responsibility,” she wrote. “Once I concluded that Abdul El-Sayed is not fit to serve in the United States Senate, I had to confront who should.”
Stevens, who lost the August primary to him by about one point, said she had felt “shut out” during the campaign, with “little effort to listen to the voters who supported me”. She pointed to an outside group’s advert blaming US aid to Israel for the price of groceries, and to a campaign advert from El-Sayed that showed Tucker Carlson.
Her Michigan colleague, Representative Debbie Dingell, said the endorsement was having the opposite effect to the one Stevens wanted, “galvanizing many communities” behind El-Sayed.
Michigan is the only toss-up Senate race where Democrats are defending a seat. If Rogers takes it, they would need to win five Republican seats rather than four to control the chamber. A poll last week had El-Sayed ahead by 50% to 48%, within the margin of error.
Polls in Michigan close at 6am and 7am on Wednesday, Pakistan time. Follow the results here.
