Trump Calls Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed a 'Jihadist' and Says He 'Should Not Be Allowed to Serve in Our Senate'
Asked by Breitbart on the tarmac before flying to a Michigan rally for Mike Rogers, the president questioned whether El-Sayed can call himself a doctor and renewed the Muslim Brotherhood charge. No response from El-Sayed is included.
President Donald Trump went after Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday, Breitbart News reports, saying he "should not be allowed to serve in our Senate."
The exchange. Trump answered a Breitbart question at Joint Base Andrews before flying to Michigan to rally for Republicans, including Senate candidate Mike Rogers. "Well, I think he's practicing illegally, from what I've been told. If he actually saw a patient, it would be illegal. So it's just like everything else. He's a jihadist, and he should not be allowed to serve in our Senate," the president said.
The doctor question. Breitbart says El-Sayed holds a medical degree but appears never to have finished the steps needed to become a licensed physician. It says he has appeared in a white coat and called himself a physician for years. The outlet notes The New York Times called him a doctor 42 times in one article on Wednesday's Michigan Senate debate, and says that when Rand Paul, a licensed surgeon, first ran in 2010 the paper called him "Mr. Paul." Rogers said on SiriusXM's Breitbart News Saturday that it would be illegal for El-Sayed to see a patient.
The Muslim Brotherhood charge. Trump also said El-Sayed is "at least very, very supportive of that group, and we can't have that." Breitbart ties this to a 2012 letter supporting the Muslim Brotherhood that El-Sayed co-signed. We covered how that question has played out in the race, including the Michigan Senate debate exchange and Rogers' Breitbart interview.
The stakes. Breitbart calls it one of the most closely watched Senate races of the cycle, with Republicans trying to hold their majority.
Note for readers: "jihadist" is the president's word, and the piece offers no evidence for it or for any case of El-Sayed treating a patient. The licensing point is Trump's secondhand claim ("from what I've been told") and Breitbart's reading, not a ruling from a medical board. The report includes no reply from El-Sayed or his campaign. We did not check his licensing status ourselves.