US President Donald Trump on Sunday sharply criticized Jewish voters who support Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Michigan, amid an increasingly contentious campaign ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Speaking at a campaign rally, Trump accused El-Sayed of hostility toward Israel and Jewish Americans and expressed disbelief that Jewish voters would consider supporting his candidacy.
“Any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves," Trump declared. “You should never speak to them again."
“I cannot understand how anybody who’s Jewish can even think about voting for this guy," he continued, adding, "And he’ll get some."
El-Sayed is facing Republican nominee Mike Rogers in a closely contested race for Michigan's Senate seat.
The Democratic candidate secured his party's nomination in August after narrowly defeating Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat known for her support of Israel.
Throughout the campaign, El-Sayed has faced criticism over his positions on Israel, American military assistance to the Jewish state, and his response to antisemitic violence.
In an interview with MS NOW, he described Israeli military operations as "bloodthirsty" and accused the country's leadership of committing genocide.
During a separate conversation with journalist Jim Acosta, El-Sayed acknowledged that Hamas had committed war crimes but continued to level accusations against Israel's government.
He has also opposed providing Israel with unconditional American military assistance and repeatedly avoided giving a direct answer when questioned about whether Israel has a right to exist.
In a pre-election interview, El-Sayed characterized Israel's leadership as "as evil as Hamas."
His comments following an attack on Temple Israel, a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, also generated controversy earlier this year.
Although El-Sayed condemned the attack and antisemitism, he described the broader circumstances by saying that “violence is a cycle" and that “hurt people hurt people."
The remarks drew criticism, prompting El-Sayed to apologize to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus in late August.
Just last week, El-Sayed argued that Israel should no longer be regarded as an American ally, accusing the Jewish state of accepting US financial assistance while involving Washington in military conflicts.
“An ally that takes your money to push you into wars you shouldn't be fighting is not an ally," he said during an interview with ABC News.
Trump has repeatedly singled out El-Sayed during campaign appearances, criticizing his views on Israel and raising allegations concerning possible family connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Those allegations have largely centered on social media posts published by El-Sayed's half-sister in 2010 and 2012, in which she claimed that their birth mother had been involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the 1970s.
The President launched particularly harsh criticism of El-Sayed immediately after his victory in the Democratic primary in August.
“When I watch Abdul, he’s full of s--t," Trump said at the time, describing the Democratic nominee as a “man of hate" and accusing him of harboring hostility toward Jewish people.
Trump expanded on those allegations, asserting that El-Sayed's public statements did not reflect his actual views.
“This guy hates Jews. Somebody said, ‘Oh, that's a little strong’. No, he hates Jews and he hates Israel…He's a man of hate. And now he's going around saying, ‘No, I love everybody.’ He doesn't love everybody. Put him in office. You're going to find out what he loves."
The President further claimed that El-Sayed “doesn't love Israel. He doesn't love Jewish people. He hates them. He hates them with a passion that burns in his heart."