President Donald Trump campaigned in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, October 22, stumping for Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson and gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn while blasting a slate of Democratic opponents, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, whom he called a "jihadist."
The president's swing through northwest Iowa comes with both marquee races on the ballot this November running tight or worse for the GOP. A recent Marist Poll shows Democrat Josh Turek leading Hinson 48 to 45 percent among likely voters, while Democrat Rob Sand holds a 52 to 45 advantage over Lahn, according to The Independent.
Trump takes aim at El-Sayed, Talarico and Omar
At the rally, Trump compared Turek to what he called "extremists" elsewhere on the Democratic ticket, naming El-Sayed in Michigan, Texas Senate candidate James Talarico and Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
"How about the gentlemen from a place called Michigan? He's a jihadist," Trump said, according to The Independent's coverage of the event.
El-Sayed, who is Muslim and would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, has pushed back hard against the label. Over the weekend, at a town hall in Caro, Michigan, he disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood when an attendee asked him to, but he also challenged the premise of the question.
"You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties," El-Sayed said. "You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow. Or that I'll have some higher order, allegiance than to the Constitution."
Trump first leveled the Muslim Brotherhood accusation at a North Carolina rally earlier in the week, according to Fox News, and previously referred to El-Sayed as "Mohammed," Scripps News reported. Some Republican strategists worry the attacks are backfiring, with Newsweek noting that GOP gains with Muslim voters in Michigan, a bloc that moved toward Trump in recent cycles, are now slipping.
High stakes for Iowa Republicans in November
Trump carried Iowa in 2016, 2020 and 2024, but the Marist numbers show the state's down-ballot races are no longer a sure thing for Republicans. Hinson, currently a congresswoman from northeast Iowa, is fighting to hold Turek off in the Senate race, while Lahn trails Sand by seven points in the governor's race.
The president has made turnout his mission, telling supporters to pretend he himself is on the ballot. He has gone so far as to promise $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans keep control of Congress, a pitch critics on the left have attacked as a bribe.
His rallies have also drawn repeated interruptions from protesters, and Trump has responded with insults and comparisons to the rioters who have spread violence during cost-of-living protests in France.
White House bars Independent reporter from the trip
The Sioux City trip also highlighted the president's escalating fight with the press. The White House barred Andrew Feinberg, White House correspondent for The Independent, from traveling on Air Force One after Feinberg pressed Trump with questions the president disliked during an Oval Office event on Tuesday.
At that event, Trump called Feinberg a "sick person" and said, "I actually think there's something wrong with you." The White House Press Office then notified Feinberg on Wednesday evening that he would "not be the print pooler on tomorrow's trip," despite his scheduled shift in the rotation having been confirmed days earlier.
"The anonymous email did not say why, but it was obvious that I was being punished for what happened on Tuesday," Feinberg wrote. "I'm not there to be friendly with this president or administration. And guess what? I wasn't there to be friendly with the last one, either."
Feinberg added that he expects to keep covering the White House regardless of who holds the office next.
"There will be an administration after this one. It may well be one with a Democratic president in the Oval Office once more," he said. "And I'll be there, doing the exact same thing."
Trump's approval sags as midterms approach
The president's campaign sprint comes as his own standing with voters has weakened. A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll puts Trump's approval rating at a record low of 33 percent.
His administration has been weighed down by an unpopular war in Iran, stubborn inflation and an immigration crackdown that polling suggests most Americans consider too aggressive, according to The Independent's report.
For Iowa Republicans, the math is straightforward. With three weeks until Election Day, Hinson and Lahn need the president's base energized and Trump's visit was designed to do exactly that. Whether it moves the numbers in two races where Democrats currently lead remains the question that will define the November midterms in the Hawkeye State.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Trump say about Abdul El-Sayed at the Iowa rally?
Speaking in Sioux City on October 22, Trump called El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate candidate who is Muslim, a "jihadist" and grouped him with candidates he described as extremists.
Who is Trump campaigning for in Iowa?
Trump appeared in Sioux City to support Ashley Hinson, the Republican running for U.S. Senate against Josh Turek, and Zach Lahn, the Republican candidate for governor running against Rob Sand.
What do the polls show in Iowa's Senate and governor races?
A recent Marist Poll shows Turek leading Hinson 48 to 45 percent and Sand leading Lahn 52 to 45 percent among likely Iowa voters.