Trump escalates anti-Muslim rhetoric before midterms
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Astrid Riecken/The Washington Post, Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg, Alex Wong, Sarah Rice via Getty Images.
President Trump has increasingly singled out Muslim politicians and communities in a bid to rally his base in the final push before election day.
Why it matters: Trump's comments could energize some Republican voters in close races, but the strategy could alienate those who see the rhetoric as fearmongering or discriminatory.
Driving the news: Trump's Monday appearance at a Michigan rally for GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers included several barbs at Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed's Muslim faith.
- Trump suggested that El-Sayed posed a security threat, saying, "He would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate."
- He also called El-Sayed a "jihadist," baselessly claimed the Senate candidate wants to impose sharia law in Michigan, and again accused him of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
- El-Sayed has repeatedly denied ties to extremist groups, and no evidence has emerged linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Between the lines: Republican political consultant Dennis Darnoi told Axios that Trump's rhetoric "doesn't really move the needle one way or the other" in Michigan, where voters have heard similar language before.
- Darnoi says the strategy could "energize and mobilize" Trump's base. But it could also discourage Jewish and Black Democrats who backed El-Sayed's primary opponent, Haley Stevens, from supporting him in November.
- "It's not always about winning, but if you can minimize the size of your loss and then go into more Republican areas and gin up your turnout and gin up your margin of victory, then you can win a very close statewide race."
By the numbers: About 38% of Michigan likely voters said they would be less likely to support a Muslim candidate, according to a Michigan State University poll released Monday.
- But 58% said a candidate's being Muslim would make no difference, while 52% said a Trump endorsement would make them less likely to support a politician.
What they're saying: Trump and some in the GOP "have chosen to use bigotry and racism" as their election strategy "because there's no other message they're able to run on," Haris Tarin, vice president of policy and programming at the Muslim Public Affairs Council, tells Axios.
- He added that it doesn't matter if voters or politicians agree with El-Sayed's policies, "all of that is up for debate. But they've chosen not to debate the issues. They've chosen to instill fear in people, promote lies, pure lies."
- Tarin predicted the attacks would have "an opposite effect for both American Muslims and Americans in general."
The other side: A White House spokesperson told Axios in an emailed statement that "President Trump is calling out the radical extremists stoking division, defrauding their communities, and perpetuating violence."
- "The President will continue to unapologetically fight for American greatness and call out extremists like Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed without apology."
Zoom out: Trump isn't alone. Several Republican lawmakers have made anti-Muslim comments this year.
- Trump has also repeatedly targeted Somali Americans and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and previously called Somali immigrants "garbage." Somalis predominantly practice Islam.
What we're watching: Whether moderates and independents take the bait, or whether the attacks backfire with Muslim Americans and other voters.
Go deeper: "Awful f*cking idiot": Tensions erupt in Congress over Republicans' anti-Muslim posts
