The Council on American-Islamic Relations is criticizing a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump that compares Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his wife with Trump and the first lady.
The post shows Trump and the first lady in formal attire alongside El-Sayed and his wife. The headline reads, “Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s.”
The post also features El-Sayed’s full name rather than the name he uses publicly.
Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR’s Michigan chapter, said the wording is a familiar political tactic.
“He is intentionally saying his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, to say, ‘Look, this guy is outside what we would consider to be a normative America.’ It’s a political tactic, and we’ve seen it before,” Walid said.
El-Sayed responded to Trump’s post during a CNN appearance.
“So yes, we got two different visions of America. Donald Trump’s vision is the one you are living in right now. Can you afford your gas? Can you afford your groceries?” El-Sayed said.
“And actually, Sarah and I like each other. I don’t know about the first lady and president, but from what I have heard, it’s a bit of a rocky road,” El-Sayed added.
Nazita Lajevardi, a political science associate professor at the University of Michigan, said the post plays into a broader pattern of political messaging about Muslims and who is considered an American insider or outsider.
“President Trump is trying to make an Islamophobic point about how Abdul El-Sayed and his wife are outsiders in this country, but in reality, to anyone who is looking at those photos, Abdul El-Sayed and his wife look like a happy, relaxed couple,” Lajevardi said.
Lajevardi said research shows the effects of this type of messaging can extend beyond the candidates themselves.
“The people who are the targets of this type of language are also hearing these messages; it has impacts for them. In fact, our research has found that it mobilizes them into politics,” Lajevardi said.
Local 4 contacted the El-Sayed campaign for additional comment on Trump’s post but has not received a response.
We also contacted U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers’ campaign for its reaction to the post and the White House for a response to CAIR’s characterization of it as Islamophobic.
Neither has responded.
El-Sayed and Rogers are facing off in one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country.
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