Intensifying his rhetoric against Muslim communities, US President Donald Trump on Monday described Democratic candidates in the midterm elections as “jihadists.”
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about the recommendations for Republicans running in the midterms and about the Democratic candidates. In response, he said, “Well, the one thing is we have jihadists being elected all over the place. We have this, whether it’s communism, jihadism. A friend of mine called up and said you should use the word ‘jihadists’.”
Donald Trump said the “radicalism and craziness” of the candidates is not the way the US wants to live. He called out the Democratic candidates’ objections to the US Supreme Court and the Senate, and called their suggestions “stupid.”
“These are people who have not been successful. They are people who have, in many cases, been failures. They come from other failed countries, and they come here and tell us how to run our country,” he added.
Somalia people ‘are not smart’
After saying he didn’t want to name any particular country, the US President cited Somalia as an example. “They’re not smart, they have no aptitude, they have nothing going, and they’re telling us how to run our country,” Trump said.
Last year, the US President described Somali immigrants as “garbage”, saying that he did not want them in America.
Additionally, he shared an image on Truth Social showing Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed standing before a crowd, with women wearing hijabs. The text on the image read, “They are coming for your home and belongings.”
ALSO READ | Abdul El-Sayed defends wife Sarah Jukaku after Trump’s controversial post, ‘Yeah, he’s right’
Just two days earlier, the US President had shared a collage featuring himself and First Lady Melania Trump, alongside a picture of El-Sayed and his wife. The text on the picture read, “Two VERY DIFFERENT Americas.”
El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Michigan last week after defeating establishment-backed Representative Haley Stevens in a closely watched primary election.
Trump’s remarks on Muslims
Trump has appeared to vilify the Muslim community throughout his rise in politics, including the jibes at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during his election campaign, and now El-Sayed.
El-Sayed responded to Trump’s social media post while speaking to CNN and said the US President’s image portrayed “people who don’t like each other but join in the interest of making billions of dollars off of you.” The Michigan Senate candidate said the picture of him and his wife showed “two people who genuinely love each other.”
ALSO READ | ‘Fascist’ vs ‘jihadist’: Old remarks brought up in cordial Trump-Mamdani meet | See key moments
Several other Republican leaders have escalated their rhetoric against Muslims.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville took to social media and said, “Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is a RADICAL ISLAMIST,” and called him a “TERRORIST.”
South Carolina Rep Nancy Mace also said in a social media post, “Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic.”