POLICY WIRE FACT CHECK: Trump’s Baseless Allegations Against Abdul El-Sayed as a ‘Jihadist’
The Claim During a political rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on October 25, 2026, President Donald Trump launched a targeted attack against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Trump...
The Claim
During a political rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on October 25, 2026, President Donald Trump launched a targeted attack against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Trump explicitly labeled El-Sayed as a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member, asserting that he represents a dangerous threat to the United States. The claim further suggested that El-Sayed intends to replace U.S. legal systems with Shariah law if elected to the Senate.
These remarks gained rapid traction across social media platforms, with clips of the speech being circulated to frame El-Sayed as a violent extremist. The rhetoric reached a fever pitch when Trump compared the candidate to the terrorists of the September 11 attacks, introducing the father of Todd Beamer—a hero of Flight 93—to underscore the perceived existential danger.
The Details & Investigation
Investigation into these claims reveals a complete lack of evidence to support the assertion that El-Sayed is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or identifies as a jihadist. By standard definition, jihadism refers to an ideology that uses military or violent means to promote Islam in government. Expert testimony from Mohammad Mohammad Hassan Khalil, a professor of religious studies at Michigan State University, confirms that El-Sayed has never advocated for violence or military promotion of Islam. Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhood is a complex political movement with various branches across the Middle East; the Egyptian branch has explicitly rejected violence since the 1970s, and there is no documented link between El-Sayed and these international organizations.
The claim that El-Sayed wants the United States to “go to Shariah law” is equally unsubstantiated. El-Sayed has repeatedly stated his support for the constitutional protections of religious freedom in the U.S. There are no policy proposals, speeches, or financial records suggesting he seeks to impose Islamic religious rules on the American public. The investigation found that the White House failed to provide any evidence to support these specific allegations when queried by fact-checkers.
In terms of information integrity, this case categorizes the claims as DISINFORMATION. This is not a case of accidental misinformation or misapplied context, but rather a deliberate attempt to use inflammatory, fearmongering rhetoric for political gain. By linking a domestic political candidate to 9/11 terrorists and global extremist groups without any factual basis, the rhetoric constitutes a coordinated deceptive narrative designed to manipulate public perception rather than inform it. The use of sensitive symbols like Todd Beamer’s father further highlights the intent to incite an emotional response based on manufactured falsehoods.
The Verdict
The claim that Abdul El-Sayed is a “jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member” is FALSE. There is no credible evidence, membership record, or ideological alignment that links El-Sayed to violent extremism or the Muslim Brotherhood. The assertion that he intends to implement Shariah law is also a baseless fabrication.
These statements represent a clear instance of deliberate disinformation, utilizing unfounded accusations to devalue a candidate through the spread of decontextualized tropes and anti-Muslim fearmongering.
Counter-misinformation & disinformation investigation conducted by PolicyWire Editorial Desk (PW).