Abdul El-Sayed is fighting back against Donald Trump’s rhetoric in Michigan while making an offer that may surprise the president’s supporters. The Democratic Senate candidate says he would cooperate with Trump on policies that help his state.
Abdul El-Sayed says he would cooperate with Trump on beneficial policies
El-Sayed told reporters on Monday that he would work with Donald Trump on policy matters benefiting Michigan if voters send him to Washington. The offer came one day after Trump escalated false claims about the Michigan candidate at a Sunday rally, calling him “a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member” and vowing to stop him. Trump also brought David Beamer, father of a 9/11 victim, onto the stage. Beamer declared that the enemy is now “right here among us.”
El-Sayed, a Democrat who was born in the U.S. and would become the first Muslim senator if elected, said most voters judge character over skin color. He dismissed the attackers as a loud minority. “There are always a few small people who want to make America small like them,” he said. “You see them. They’re very loud. They bark. And the vast majority of folks in this state believe in a big America.”
He also accused Republicans of avoiding the issues voters actually face. “They have nothing to say about solving the problems in your life,” El-Sayed said. “Their whole campaign strategy is to talk about me.” Trump’s rally remarks drew a lot of criticism, with some observers calling them Islamophobic.
All in all, El-Sayed faces former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, in one of the country’s most competitive races. Rogers calls El-Sayed extreme but said recently on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he has “never called him a terrorist.” The race could decide control of the Senate, adding national weight to a contest already focused on Michigan’s voters and their concerns.
