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US midterms 2026: Trump calls Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ at Iowa rally, hails Republican Mike Rogers as 'apple pie'

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Ankari, G. (2026, November 2). US midterms 2026: Trump calls Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ at Iowa rally, hails Republican Mike Rogers as 'apple pie'. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-mid-term-elections/news/us-midterms-2026-trump-calls-democratic-senate-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-jihadist-at-iowa-rally-hails-republican-mike-rogers-as-apple-pie/articleshow/135453453.cms

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

Times of India · collected 2026-11-02 · by Gokul Ankari

Quick Summary

At a recent Iowa rally for the 2026 US midterms, President Donald Trump attacked Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed by repeatedly calling him a "jihadist" and questioning his Muslim faith. In contrast, Trump praised Republican candidate Mike Rogers as "apple pie," emphasizing the cultural divide between the candidates. The comments came amid intense scrutiny of the closely contested Michigan race that could determine control of the Senate post-elections.
Written by AI on 2026-11-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 2, 2026, Donald Trump launched a racist tirade against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a rally in Iowa, calling him a "jihadist" and suggesting that if elected, Congress would need to install metal detectors for security. This attack came amid tight race predictions for Tuesday’s midterm elections, which will determine control of the Senate. Trump's rhetoric also aimed to influence Michigan’s closely watched Senate contest between El-Sayed and Republican candidate Mike Rogers. Earlier in October, a dispute arose when fellow Democrat Hayley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in August, declined to campaign with him over concerns about an outside group’s political ad linking rising prices to US military support for Israel's war on Gaza. In response, El-Sayed asked Stevens not to attend their scheduled joint event, leading Stevens to endorse Rogers instead. Trump’s inflammatory remarks reflect his effort to capitalize on Islamophobia and conspiracy theories ahead of critical voting day.

Written for “Trump Attacks El-Sayed at Iowa Rally” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.65, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, 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 122765: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-02

Story

📰 Trump Attacks El-Sayed at Iowa Rally
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump launches racist diatribe against Abdul El-Sayed at Iowa rally Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
Trump leans into Islamophobia and conspiracy in last-ditch campaign rallies Same event
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 6 of 18 claims Outlet record 60/100
Trump backs Paxton in Texas; Rogers repeats Muslim Brotherhood claims against El-Sayed in Michigan Different event
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A mentions separate events in Texas and Michigan without specifics on a rally in Iowa or calling El-Sayed a 'jihadist', while Article B focuses solely on Trump's specific actions and words at an Iowa rally targeting El-Sayed.”
Michigan Muslims helped elect Trump. Now their faith is under fire Different event
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles mention Abdul El-Sayed and Trump's attacks on him, they describe different specific incidents occurring at distinct times and places.”
Democrat civil war breaks out in Michigan just days away from midterm elections with vicious sniping over controversial 'anti-Israel' TV ad... as 'blue tsunami' risks turning into a ripple Different event
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 42 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different occurrences: Article A discusses a feud between two Democratic candidates in Michigan, while Article B reports on President Trump's remarks about one of those candidates at an Iowa rally.”
Centrist Democrats Would Rather Lose the Senate Than Win With El-Sayed Different event
The Intercept
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 54 claims Outlet record 97/100
“Article A discusses pressure on Abdul El-Sayed from centrist Democrats regarding a campaign ad, while Article B reports on Donald Trump's comments about El-Sayed at an Iowa rally.”
Trump, Vance, and the ‘jihadist’ el Sayed Different event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 3 of 76 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different events: one in Michigan and another in Iowa.”
Is the Islamophobic Campaign Against El-Sayed Working? Different event
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 13 claims
“The articles describe different events - one discusses general attacks on El-Sayed while the other reports a specific incident where Trump called El-Sayed a 'jihadist' at an Iowa rally.”
Trump tells voters to send El-Sayed ‘back to where he came from’ Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The events described are related but distinct: Article A reports on a rally where Trump tells voters to send El-Sayed 'back to where he came from', while Article B describes a separate Iowa rally where Trump calls El-Sayed a 'jihadist' and refers to his Muslim faith.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders says GOP rhetoric about El-Sayed "should appall every decent American" Different event
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Sen. Bernie Sanders' comments about rhetoric in the Michigan Senate race, while Article B describes President Donald Trump's direct remarks at an Iowa rally.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
2 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
Times of India's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Times of India · 3922 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Gokul Ankari
43 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The result could influence which party controls the Senate after the elections.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · US midterms 2026: Trump calls Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ at Iowa rally, hails Republican Mike Rogers as 'apple pie'
🔮 US President Donald Trump has said he would use his veto powers to block legislation if Democrats gain control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · 'They'll become garbage': Trump says he'll become 'Mr. Veto' if Democrats win midterms
🔮 Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has rejected calls for Britain to formally apologise for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, arguing that such a move would distract from present-day priorities and could lead to demands for financial compensation.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Tory leader Kemi Badenoch opposes formal British apology for slave trade, calls it a 'navel-gazing distraction'
🔮 The increase comes as both parties face closely contested races that could determine control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's second term.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · US midterms 2026: Early voting surpasses 50.5 million, Texas sees significant voter turnout increase
🔮 US District Judge Trina Thompson issued the temporary restraining order on Friday, ruling that the administration could not use its list of alleged non-citizen voters to direct local officials to change how they administer elections.
2026-10-31 · assertive framing · US midterms 2026: Judge blocks Trump admin from threatening election workers over voter data demands
🔮 US President Donald Trump will hold campaign rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, reversing an earlier decision to cancel the events as Republicans seek to retain their Senate majority in the November midterm elections, people familiar with his plans told AP.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · US Midterms 2026: Trump reschedules Iowa, Kansas campaign rallies for Sunday after cancellations
🔮 A Ramaswamy campaign official confirmed to The Washington Post that the advertisement was no longer running, saying it had "rotated off like any ad would". Ramaswamy also addressed the decision on Thursday when asked by a reporter in Vandalia, Ohio, whether his campaign had stopped broadcasting the advertisement. "It ran to completion, and we put up four other ads," he said.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · US midterms 2026: Vivek Ramaswamy pulls ad featuring rival Amy Acton's estranged mother that drew bipartisan criticism
🔮 Asked whether Trump might respond to poor Republican results by imposing additional tariffs on Canada, Carney said he did not believe that was likely.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · US midterms 2026: Mark Carney rejects US claim of election interference, says 'no merit'
🔮 Prosecutors said Alfozan agreed to the proposal but indicated he would wait until his company stock vested before leaving.
2026-10-20 · mixed framing · Ex-OpenAI engineer, accused of planting office bug, had ties with Saudi royal family
🔮 DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration would pursue cases involving alleged unlawful voting by noncitizens.
2026-10-16 · mixed framing · Indian national charged in US over false citizenship claim to vote in 2024 election; faces up to 10 years in prison
Also by Gokul Ankari
'They'll become garbage': Trump says he'll become 'Mr. Veto' if Democrats win midterms
2026-11-01 · Times of India
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch opposes formal British apology for slave trade, calls it a 'navel-gazing distraction'
2026-11-01 · Times of India
Trump calls former lawyer Alina Habba's $50m deal with family of pardoned Venezuelan banker 'unacceptable'
2026-11-01 · Times of India
US midterms 2026: Early voting surpasses 50.5 million, Texas sees significant voter turnout increase
2026-11-01 · Times of India
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 43 articles by Gokul Ankari →

Topics

Democratic Michigan Republican Senate the Muslim Brotherhood

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Senate ORG · 4× Stevens PERSON · 4× El-Sayed PERSON · 3× Michigan ORG · 3× Republican NORP · 3× Rogers PERSON · 2× the Muslim Brotherhood ORG · 2× Democratic NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1×

Narrative

US President Donald Trump targeted Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday, repeatedly calling the Michigan progressive a “jihadist” and making remarks about his Muslim faith as voters prepare to head to the polls for Tuesday’s midterm elections.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-02
🔮 The result could influence which party controls the Senate after the elections.
2026-11-02 · Times of India
US midterms 2026: Trump calls Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ at Iowa rally, hails Republican Mike Rogers as 'apple pie' · assertive framing

Claims (22 extracted, 2 hedged)

US President Donald Trump targeted Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday, repeatedly calling the Michigan progressive a “jihadist” and making remarks about his Muslim faith as voters prepare to head to the polls for Tuesday’s midterm elections. asserted
voters → target → elections
Trump's comments came as El-Sayed remains in a closely contested Michigan Senate race against Republican candidate Mike Rogers. asserted
Sayed → come → Rogers
The result could influence which party controls the Senate after the elections. uncertain
party → influence → elections
“If you vote for this jihadist lunatic that wants to destroy you, you’re crazy,” Trump told the crowd. asserted
Trump → vote → crowd
He also said Congress would need to “get a special metal detector for Abdul” if the candidate were elected. asserted
candidate → say → Abdul
The Michigan contest has attracted national attention following a dispute between El-Sayed and fellow Democrat Haley Stevens, who lost to him in the August primary. asserted
who → attract → primary
Stevens had refused to campaign alongside the nominee and called on him to distance himself from an advertisement by an outside political group. asserted
Stevens → refuse → group
The advertisement linked rising prices to US military support for Israel's war in Gaza. asserted
advertisement → link → Gaza
El-Sayed subsequently asked Stevens not to attend a campaign event where the two were scheduled to appear together on Sunday. asserted
two → ask → Sunday
Stevens instead endorsed Rogers, prompting criticism from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. asserted
Stevens → endorse → Schumer
Trump praised Stevens for backing the Republican candidate and encouraged her to join the GOP. asserted
Trump → praise → GOP
“It was an incredible thing,” he said. asserted
he → say → ?
“I’d love her to join the Republican party. asserted
her → love → party
I think that could happen.” uncertain
that → think → ?
The president also endorsed Rogers, describing him as “apple pie” and contrasting the Republican candidate with what he called “communists or jihadists” and the Muslim Brotherhood. asserted
he → endorse → what
And you know what this country needs? asserted
country → know → what
We don’t need the communists or jihadists, the Muslim Brotherhood. asserted
We → need → communists
We need apple pie. asserted
We → need → pie
He’s apple pie. asserted
He → ’ → ?
He’ll be good,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → say → ?
Trump also used the rally to underline the importance he attached to the midterm elections, urging supporters to view the contest as a test of his own presidency. asserted
he → use → presidency
He said he had spent much of the weekend travelling to campaign events instead of watching football. “Pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd, adding: “Essentially, I am on the ballot.” asserted
I → say → ballot
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