Trump Describes Some Democratic Candidates as 'Jihadists' Ahead of Midterms
2 sources · United States
Who reported this
- MS NOW
- CNN
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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President Donald Trump stated on Monday that jihadists are being elected all over the place. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump mentioned that a friend suggested he use the term jihadist to describe what is happening. He grouped this with his previous claims that communism is also spreading. Trump did not provide specific evidence or name the individuals he was referring to, though he mentioned as an example that some candidates come from countries like Somalia.
The remarks follow Trump's increasing focus on progressive Democratic candidates. He has specifically targeted Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan. Trump has called El-Sayed a hater of Jews and Israel and a communist. He also posted images on Truth Social comparing himself and the first lady to El-Sayed and his wife, who wears a hijab, captioning them as two very different Americas. El-Sayed has denied the characterizations and noted in a CNN interview that the two images represent differing visions of America.
Trump has also frequently criticized Representative Ilhan Omar, a naturalized citizen born in Somalia. He has previously suggested that Omar and another Muslim congresswoman should be sent back to where they came from. National Republicans have also begun referring to El-Sayed by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, following his primary win.
Outlets with different political leans framed these events differently. A center-left source described the comments as a new, incendiary line of attack and an escalation of rhetoric. A left-leaning source framed the remarks as echoing anti-Muslim rhetoric and veering toward Islamophobia.
How each side framed it
- Left
- Framed the comments as anti-American and Islamophobic rhetoric targeting progressive candidates.
- Centre-left
- Framed the comments as an incendiary escalation of rhetoric used to portray the Democratic party as extreme.
Sources
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