# Trump's El-Sayed attack

News · Heat 8.4 / 10 · 5 shows · 25m airtime

Speaking in Michigan on October 27, 2026, Donald Trump called Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member who wants the country under Sharia law, and said El-Sayed would be the only senator to go through a metal detector. Coverage picked up the procedural detail behind that line: the House has metal detectors at its entrance, the Senate does not. The discussion has since widened to JD Vance's statement that El-Sayed has zero attachment to the land or its history, to Bernie Moreno saying a non-Christian should not be allowed in the Senate and questioning whether El-Sayed believes rights come from God, to RFK Jr. saying Arabs produce no science or Nobel Prizes, and to Ted Cruz calling El-Sayed a jihadist…

Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/trumps_el_sayed_attack_2123128627

## Segments

- [The Daily Show: Ears Edition](https://boilpoints.com/u/thedailyshowearsedition), 2026-10-27, 6:06 to 7:44: **Checks the metal-detector line against the Senate**. Plays the Michigan clip of Trump calling Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member and a Sharia-law advocate, then checks the metal-detector line and finds the Senate really has none. New angle: The House has metal detectors at its entrance; the Senate does not.
- [The Breakfast Club](https://boilpoints.com/u/thebreakfastclub), 2026-10-28, 0:43 to 2:26: **Reports the rally remarks and El-Sayed's reply**. Reports the rally remarks, the September 11 references and the metal detector line, then gives El-Sayed's response and the White House's defense. Straight retelling of the weekend's story with the Michigan Senate race as backdrop. New angle: Trump called El-Sayed a jihadist and said he would be the only senator to go through a metal detector.
- [Lovett or Leave It](https://boilpoints.com/u/lovettorleaveit), 2026-10-28, 7:43 to 14:54: **Reacts to Trump's jihadist attack on El-Sayed**. Covers the Michigan rally and the attacks that followed: Trump's jihadist line, Vance's Howell rally remarks, Rogers's Meet the Press dodging and El-Sayed's Paula Abdul comeback. Plays the clips and reacts rather than adding reporting. New angle: Trump called El-Sayed a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member; Vance said he has zero attachment to the land or its history.
- [Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar](https://boilpoints.com/u/breakingpointswithkrystalandsaagar), 2026-10-29, 30:15 to 31:54: **Adds Moreno and RFK Jr. to the attacks**. Adds two new voices to the identity-attack story: Bernie Moreno saying a non-Christian should not serve in the Senate, and RFK Jr. saying 500 million Arabs produce no science or Nobel Prizes. El-Sayed answers that RFK Jr. has zero scientific credentials while he holds two doctoral degrees. New angle: Bernie Moreno said a non-Christian should not be allowed in the Senate; RFK Jr. said Arabs produce no science or Nobel Prizes.
- [Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar](https://boilpoints.com/u/breakingpointswithkrystalandsaagar), 2026-10-29, 40:48 to 43:16: **Cites a poll on anti-Muslim bias**. Puts the Islamophobia question to El-Sayed directly in the final days, citing a poll that 38 percent of voters would be less likely to back a Muslim candidate. El-Sayed answers that a loud few do not speak for Michigan and that he will keep running on gas, groceries, health care and housing. New angle: A poll found 38 percent of voters would be less likely to vote for a Muslim candidate.
- [The Bulwark Daily](https://boilpoints.com/u/thebulwarkdaily), 2026-10-29, 29:19 to 33:11: **Reads Article VI against Moreno's religious test**. Plays the Moreno clip in full and reads Article VI aloud: French argues Moreno is asking voters to impose a religious test the Constitution bars, and notes Moreno was born in Colombia while El-Sayed was born here. New angle: Moreno questioned whether El-Sayed believes rights come from God and that Jesus came for salvation.
- [The Daily Show: Ears Edition](https://boilpoints.com/u/thedailyshowearsedition), 2026-10-31, 4:02 to 5:40: **Fact-checks the metal detector line**. Plays the Michigan rally clip in which Trump calls Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member and says he would be the only senator to pass through a metal detector. The hosts fact-check the metal detector line and frame the closing GOP argument as Islamophobia. New angle: Trump said El-Sayed would be the only senator to go through a metal detector; the Senate has none.
- [The Daily Show: Ears Edition](https://boilpoints.com/u/thedailyshowearsedition), 2026-10-31, 39:57 to 41:56: **Plays the jihadist ad and mocks the name**. Plays a Republican ad warning that Democrats will invite hordes of jihadists and end Christmas, then mocks the rally's mangled pronunciations of Abdul El-Sayed's name. Extends the El-Sayed attack with the ad itself, which the earlier coverage did not have. New angle: A Republican campaign ad says Democrats will invite hordes of jihadists and end Christmas.
- [The Daily Show: Ears Edition](https://boilpoints.com/u/thedailyshowearsedition), 2026-10-31, 41:56 to 45:01: **Plays Vance and Cruz attacking El-Sayed**. Plays clips of J.D. Vance and Ted Cruz attacking Abdul El-Sayed, extending the closing Republican argument beyond Trump: Vance ties him to the Green New Deal, defunding police and Hassan Piker, and Cruz calls him a jihadist leprechaun. New angle: Cruz called El-Sayed a jihadist leprechaun and said Americans will die if he is elected.