First posted on Instagram
President Donald Trump took his closing pitch for Michigan's Senate race to a rally stage in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Thursday, October 29, and aimed a blunt message at Black and Jewish voters in Michigan: do not vote for the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed.
"If you're Black or if you're Jewish, and if you vote for Abdul, you're crazy. Okay? You're crazy. You're crazy anyway," Trump told the crowd at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center, drawing applause.
El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health director, faces Republican Mike Rogers, the Trump-backed former congressman, for the open seat of retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. Voters decide on Tuesday, November 3, and the race is rated a toss-up, with control of the Senate at stake — Republicans now hold a 53-47 majority.
At the same rally, Trump repeated his claim that El-Sayed is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, calling him "definitely Muslim Brotherhood." El-Sayed has repeatedly denied the claim, and Bridge Michigan reported it found no evidence for it.
The appeal lands on a live fault line in the race: Rogers has been courting Black voters in and around Detroit who backed El-Sayed's primary opponent, Representative Haley Stevens, while El-Sayed, who narrowly beat Stevens in the August primary, would become the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate if he wins.
Former President Barack Obama defended El-Sayed at a Detroit rally, comparing the attacks to the conspiracy theories he faced himself, saying: "We have seen this movie before. I starred in it. This stuff didn't work on me in Michigan, it's not going to work on Abdul." Trump used a similar line in 2024, telling Black, Hispanic and Jewish voters who backed Kamala Harris they should "have your head examined."
El-Sayed has answered Trump's attacks on the campaign trail, including his challenge in Kalamazoo that he would go through a metal detector if Trump sat for a lie detector. Michigan voters get the last word on Tuesday.