‘Deflections’: Abdul El-Sayed responds to Trump’s anti-Muslim attacks“转移话题”：阿卜杜勒·赛义德回应特朗普的反穆斯林攻击
The Democratic candidate for the US Senate has been the subject of Islamophobic attacks from Trump.
![Michigan Democrat senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at a midterm campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 25, 2026 [Jeff Kowalsky/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/afp_6adfa3754314-1793041269.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
The Democratic candidate for the US Senate has been the subject of Islamophobic attacks from Trump.
Michigan Democrat senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at a midterm campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 25, 2026 [Jeff Kowalsky/AFP]
Detroit, Michigan – Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has dismissed United States President Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim attacks against him, saying that they are an attempt to move the attention away from the president’s own record.
At a news conference in Detroit on Monday, El-Sayed said Trump is trying to distract from issues that matter to Americans – including petrol prices and the war on Iran – by accusing the Democratic candidate of being a “jihadist”.
list 1 of 3 Obama joins El-Sayed in Michigan rally cry before key midterms
list 2 of 3 Trump dials up Islamophobia against Abdul El-Sayed at Michigan Senate rally
list 3 of 3 US foreign aid to Israel highlighted in campaign ad in support of El-Sayed
El-Sayed called the attacks “deflections and deceptions based on no evidence”.
“They have nothing to say about solving the problems in your life. They’re not talking about you,” the Democratic candidate said of Republicans.
“They’re not talking about your gas or your groceries … They’re not talking about clean air or clean water. They’re not talking about any of the things that the government is actually supposed to solve. Why? Because Donald Trump has created those problems.”
At a rally in Michigan on Sunday, Trump unleashed repeated baseless claims against El-Sayed, accusing the Democrat of wanting to impose “Sharia law” on the country.
“He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate,” Trump said. “I want him to have a metal detector.”
El-Sayed laughed off the suggestion that he may personally be a physical threat to Congress. “He knows I got those Wolverine claws,” he said, a reference to the sports teams of his alma mater, the University of Michigan.
The progressive Democrat and former public health official is locked in a close race with former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, a contest that could decide the Senate majority for the next two years.
Rogers has made unfounded allegations linking El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah a central point of his campaign.
On Monday, El-Sayed said most Americans reject such attacks.
“There are always a few small people who want to make America small like that. You see them; they’re very loud, and they bark,” El-Sayed said.
“The vast majority of folks in this state believe in a big America. They’re open-minded. They’re big-hearted. And the story of America is those who believe in big America, overcoming the deception, the distraction, the sad attempts of the small-minded to make us small.”
He added that “Michiganders are a lot bigger than that”.
El-Sayed also addressed Trump’s statements mocking his name and misrepresenting it as “Mohamed”.
“My name and my faith are not the reason you can’t afford your gas – not the reason you can’t afford your groceries, not the reason you can’t pay your rent, your mortgage, not the reason you can’t see a doctor,” he said.
美国参议院民主党候选人一直是特朗普发起的仇视伊斯兰教攻击的目标。
2026年10月25日，密歇根州民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德在密歇根州大急流城举行的中期竞选集会上发表讲话。[杰夫·科瓦尔斯基/法新社]
密歇根州底特律——民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德驳斥了美国总统唐纳德·特朗普对他发起的反穆斯林攻击，称这些攻击是为了转移人们对总统自身政绩的注意力。
周一在底特律举行的新闻发布会上，埃尔-赛义德表示，特朗普试图通过指责民主党候选人是“圣战分子”来转移人们对美国人关心的问题（包括汽油价格和对伊朗的战争）的注意力。
（共3条，第1条）奥巴马与埃尔-赛义德在密歇根州集会上发表讲话，为关键的中期选举造势
特朗普在密歇根州参议院集会上煽动针对阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德的伊斯兰恐惧症（共3条，此为第2条）
竞选广告中重点提及了美国对以色列的三项援助中的第三项，以支持埃尔-赛义德。
埃尔-赛义德称这些攻击是“毫无证据的转移视线和欺骗行为”。
“他们对解决你生活中的问题毫无发言权。他们根本不关心你，”这位民主党候选人谈到共和党人时说道。
“他们不谈你的汽油，也不谈你的食品杂货……他们不谈清洁的空气，也不谈清洁的水。他们不谈政府真正应该解决的任何问题。为什么？因为这些问题都是唐纳德·特朗普造成的。”
周日，特朗普在密歇根州的一次集会上，对埃尔-赛义德抛出了一连串毫无根据的指控，指责这位民主党人想要在该国推行“伊斯兰教法”。
特朗普说：“他将是唯一一位进入参议院前必须通过金属探测器的参议员。我希望他能接受金属探测器检查。”
埃尔-赛义德对有人暗示他可能对国会构成人身威胁的说法一笑置之。“他知道我有一双金刚狼的利爪，”他说道，这里指的是他母校密歇根大学的运动队。
这位进步派民主党人、前公共卫生官员正与前共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯展开激烈角逐，这场选举可能会决定未来两年参议院的多数席位归属。
罗杰斯毫无根据地指控埃尔-赛义德与穆斯林兄弟会、哈马斯和真主党有关联，并将此作为其竞选活动的核心。
周一，埃尔-赛义德表示，大多数美国人反对这种袭击。
“总有一些心胸狭隘的人想把美国变成那样狭隘。你看，他们声音很大，叫嚣得很厉害，”埃尔-赛义德说道。
“本州绝大多数民众都相信美国应该是一个强大的国家。他们思想开放，心胸宽广。美国的故事就是那些相信美国应该强大的人们，战胜了那些心胸狭隘之人试图让我们变得狭隘的欺骗、干扰和可悲的企图。”
他还补充说，“密歇根人的胸怀远不止于此”。
埃尔-赛义德还回应了特朗普嘲笑他的名字并将其错误地写成“穆罕默德”的言论。
他说：“我的名字和我的信仰并不是你买不起汽油的原因，也不是你买不起食品杂货、付不起房租或房贷、看不起医生的原因。”