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Midterm campaigning, religious rhetoric & Senate race / SOURCED NEWS BRIEF

Trump invokes Flight 93 in attack on Muslim Senate candidate

Public campaign remarks reported by Reuters and AP; allegations against El-Sayed denied and not established as findings

Edited by The Inner Circle Ledger · Summary of linked reporting

Donald Trump

Source published: Oct 25, 2026 · 6:02 AM EDT · Event: 2026-10-25

At an October 25 rally for Michigan Republican candidates, President Donald Trump described Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as a jihadist and Muslim Brotherhood member, then compared efforts to prevent his election with Flight 93 passengers' resistance to the September 11 hijackers. Reuters and the Associated Press report that Trump invoked Michigan native Todd Beamer and said Michigan should similarly fight to keep El-Sayed from the Capitol. The remarks were campaign rhetoric, not a charge, intelligence assessment or judicial finding.

Response / context

El-Sayed, who was born in Michigan and would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, has denied affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and called questions about his loyalty shameful. Reuters reported that Republican nominee Mike Rogers did not answer its post-rally questions about Trump's 9/11 comparison; earlier that day Rogers said he had never called El-Sayed a terrorist and did not agree that he was a violent terrorist, while continuing to criticize El-Sayed's political associations. Reuters described Rogers' Muslim Brotherhood allegation as unsupported by evidence. AP noted that El-Sayed has faced criticism for earlier comments after a synagogue attack and later apologized, saying he did not intend to justify the violence. Those statements and campaign allegations remain distinct from verified findings about El-Sayed.

Dates and scope

Source publication: Oct 25, 2026 · 6:02 AM EDT

Event or conduct: 2026-10-25. Trump delivered the remarks at an October 25 campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan. Reuters' page records an October 25 publication timestamp; AP also published October 25. The Ledger reviewed both full reports and attempted to open the linked C-SPAN recording at 9:02 p.m. EDT. The direct C-SPAN page returned a 402 response, so the quoted exchanges and rally context are attributed to Reuters and AP rather than represented as an independently reviewed transcript.

Source review: Oct 25, 2026 · 9:02 PM EDT

Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.

This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.

Read the original sources

  1. Reuters, Bo Erickson: Trump invokes 9/11 in urging Michigan voters to oppose Muslim Senate candidate El-Sayed ↗

    October 25 on-scene report quoting Trump's Flight 93 comparison, El-Sayed's denial, Rogers' response and the competitive Michigan Senate context

  2. Associated Press, Mike Catalini and Mike Householder: Trump escalates rhetoric against El-Sayed as he tries to undermine Democrat in Michigan Senate race ↗

    October 25 report from Port Huron carrying the rally remarks, El-Sayed's denials, Rogers' campaign claims and El-Sayed's response to criticism of his own earlier rhetoric

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