Trump mocks Michigan’s progressive and calls him a ‘jihadist’ as president campaigns in Iowa

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Dobkin, R. (2026, October 23). Trump mocks Michigan’s progressive and calls him a ‘jihadist’ as president campaigns in Iowa. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iowa-rally-abdul-elsayed-b3071831.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-23 · by Rachel Dobkin

Quick Summary

During his campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa, President Donald Trump mocked Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim progressive Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, by calling him a "jihadist." This occurred as Trump was campaigning for Republican candidates against Democratic challengers ahead of the elections. The event followed an incident where Trump banned Independent reporter Andrew Feinberg from covering his trip after Feinberg asked critical questions during a previous event, which led to a heated exchange between them.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-23, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Donald Trump mocked Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, and called him a “jihadist” during his presidential campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa on October 21, 2026. Trump was there to support Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who is competing against Democrat Josh Turek in the same race. The president had previously banned The Independent World from covering him after an altercation with reporter Andrew Feinberg.

El-Sayed, who identifies as Muslim, recently disavowed the global Islamist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood during a town hall meeting in Caro, Michigan. He was asked to do so by an attendee over the weekend, but also questioned why such a request would be necessary. Trump used this incident to label El-Sayed and other Democrats like James Talarico of Texas and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota as “extremists.”

Written for “Trump Mocks Michigan Progressive” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 100752: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-23

Story

📰 Trump Mocks Michigan Progressive
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 8% hedged 2 of 24 📰 publisher trust 95
“Article A describes El-Sayed responding to a question at a town hall in Michigan, while Article B reports Trump mocking El-Sayed during a campaign event in Iowa.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 60
“While both articles mention Abdul El-Sayed, they describe different events: one is a debate between candidates for Michigan's Senate seat, and the other is Trump mocking El-Sayed during his campaign in Iowa.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 17 📰 publisher trust 64
“While both articles mention Abdul El-Sayed and Donald Trump, they describe different events occurring at distinct times and locations: one is about a debate in Michigan, the other is about Trump's campaign stop in Iowa.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 50% hedged 1 of 2 📰 publisher trust 66
“Article A describes a debate between candidates Abdul el Sayed and Mike Rogers in Michigan, while Article B describes Donald Trump mocking Abdul El-Sayed during a campaign stop in Iowa.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 24 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles describe different incidents involving different public figures (Trump and Obama) commenting on Abdul El-Sayed at separate times and places.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles discuss different aspects of Abdul El-Sayed's campaign and related political reactions at distinct times and places.”
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 21% hedged 6 of 28 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe different events: one is about podcast hosts discussing El-Sayed’s approach to questions about his family's ties, while the other describes Trump mocking El-Sayed during a campaign event in Iowa.”
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 35% hedged 6 of 17 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles describe different events: one about a controversy surrounding a campaign against El-Sayed, and another about Trump mocking El-Sayed during a presidential trip in Iowa.”
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 17 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe different events: one is a debate in Michigan where El-Sayed and Rogers clash, while the other is Trump mocking El-Sayed during a campaign stop in Iowa.”
Semafor
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 13% hedged 6 of 47 📰 publisher trust 60
“While both articles mention Abdul El-Sayed and comments related to his candidacy, they describe different events: one about media focus on a tweet and the other about Trump mocking El-Sayed during a campaign event.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 2893 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rachel Dobkin
84 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 El-Sayed, who is Muslim, disavowed the global Islamist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood at a town hall in Caro, Michigan, over the weekend after being asked to by an attendee if he would do so.
🔮 “I would say this is a slightly lesser event,” he then admitted.
🔮 The president has faced backlash, including from several Republican lawmakers, for waiving the new sanctions, days before they were set to take effect.
🔮 This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”
🔮 “They get home, and they get smacked in the face by the mother and the father, maybe a little harder by the father.
🔮 Spicer defended Zacharia’s intelligence, but noted that it would serve Trump well to understand what it takes to be a successful White House press secretary.
🔮 As Republicans fight to keep control of the House and Senate in red states that would normally be easy to win, Musk, who previously worked at the White House for President Donald Trump, has been pouring money into GOP candidates.
🔮 Trump has been tirelessly campaigning in red states that would normally be easy for Republicans to win so the GOP can keep control of Congress.
🔮 Those who sought to bring down the Republic will answer for it,” Macron said, according to an English transcription.
🔮 Millennium Force was set to be closed until an internal review and a state inspection were conducted to ensure the safety of those in the park, a Six Flags spokesperson told the local outlet.
Also by Rachel Dobkin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 84 articles by Rachel Dobkin →

Topics

Democrat Democratic Iowa Michigan Sioux City

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 10× Feinberg PERSON · 5× Democrat NORP · 3× Democratic NORP · 3× El-Sayed PERSON · 3× Hinson PERSON · 3× Iowa GPE · 3× Michigan GPE · 3× Sioux City GPE · 3× U.S. Senate ORG · 2×

Narrative

Donald Trump mocked progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, and called him a “jihadist” as the president campaigned in Iowa. Trump was in Sioux City to stump for Republicans like Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who is running for U.S. Senate against Democrat Josh Turek, after banning The Independent from the trip following the president's attack on reporter Andrew Feinberg earlier in the week.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23
🔮 El-Sayed, who is Muslim, disavowed the global Islamist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood at a town hall in Caro, Michigan, over the weekend after being asked to by an attendee if he would do so.

Claims (25 extracted, 2 hedged)

Donald Trump mocked progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, and called him a “jihadist” as the president campaigned in Iowa. Trump was in Sioux City to stump for Republicans like Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who is running for U.S. Senate against Democrat Josh Turek, after banning The Independent from the trip following the president's attack on reporter Andrew Feinberg earlier in the week. asserted
who → mock → week
The president compared Turek to “extremists” such as El-Sayed and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico in Texas and Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. asserted
president → compare → Minnesota
He’s a jihadist,” Trump exclaimed. asserted
Trump → ’ → ?
El-Sayed, who is Muslim, disavowed the global Islamist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood at a town hall in Caro, Michigan, over the weekend after being asked to by an attendee if he would do so. asserted
he → disavow → attendee
But he also asked the man why he would ask such a question. asserted
he → ask → question
“You’re asking the question because implicitly you assume that I’ll have dual loyalties,” El-Sayed said. asserted
Sayed → ask → loyalties
“You assume that somehow I wouldn’t disavow. Or that I’ll have some higher order, allegiance than to the Constitution.” asserted
I → assume → Constitution
Trump was campaigning in Sioux City for Hinson and Zach Lahn, who is running for Iowa governor against Democrat Rob Sand. asserted
who → campaign → Sand
Both Hinson and Lahn’s races remain tight in a state that Trump won in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. asserted
Trump → remain → 2016
Turek is leading Hinson 48 to 45 percent, while Sand is ahead of Lahn 52 to 45 percent among likely voters in Iowa, according to a recent Marist Poll. uncertain
Sand → lead → Poll
Feinberg, White House correspondent for The Independent, was supposed to travel with Trump to Sioux City on Air Force One — until he got on the president’s bad side for asking questions the president didn’t like during an Oval Office event Tuesday. asserted
president → suppose → event
At one point during the event, Trump called Feinberg a “sick person” and said, “I actually think there’s something wrong with you.” asserted
I → call → you
Feinberg, a member of the traveling White House press pool, was notified by the White House Press Office Wednesday evening that he will “not be the print pooler on tomorrow’s trip,” despite his scheduled shift in the rotation being confirmed days earlier. asserted
shift → travel → rotation
“The anonymous email did not say why, but it was obvious that I was being punished for what happened on Tuesday,” Feinberg wrote in a new article about his experience being booted from the president’s jet. asserted
Feinberg → say → jet
“I’m not there to be friendly with this president or administration. asserted
I → ’m → president
It may well be one with a Democratic president in the Oval Office once more,” Feinberg said. uncertain
Feinberg → say → Office
“And I’ll be there, doing the exact same thing.” asserted
I → do → thing
Trump has made it his mission to get voters to turn out for Republican candidates, telling his supporters to pretend that he’s on the ballot. asserted
he → make → ballot
The president has gone so far as to promise $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans keep control of Congress, which critics have called a bribe. asserted
critics → go → which
Meanwhile, Trump’s rallies meant to drum up excitement among his base have been constantly interrupted by the yells of protesters. asserted
meant → mean → protesters
The president has tried to combat his hecklers with “your mom” and fat jokes. asserted
president → try → mom
At a rally in North Carolina earlier this week, Trump went as far as to compare the hecklers to rioters in Paris, who have spread violence during nationwide protests over the rising cost of living and poor conditions of schools in France. asserted
who → go → France
As Trump tries to boost GOP candidates’ chances of winning the midterms, he has his own image issue to deal with. asserted
he → try → issue
The president has hit a record low approval rating of 33 percent in a new ABC New/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. asserted
president → hit → poll
His administration has been dogged by an unpopular war in Iran, stubborn inflation and an immigration crackdown that most Americans have found too aggressive. asserted
Americans → dog → Iran
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