U.S. Criticism of Trump and Senator El-Sayed's Remarks

In depth

Abdul El-Sayed, who was elected to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate, attacked President Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance in his victory speech. In the speech he said Michigan is "the capital of Arab America," and when he was called a "jihadist," he responded with humor and a single Arabic word, which went viral. In an interview with ABC, El-Sayed said: "Let's talk about how he is an idiot who does not take things seriously. Think about this war in Iran, which every president before him avoided entering, because it was clearly a stupid idea."

El-Sayed added in the interview: "Let's talk about the stupidity of the tariff war with Canada. Let's talk about...". He said it is possible to work with Trump if he operates seriously. In the speech he addressed Vance: "JD, habibi, there is some subtle irony in the fact that you are constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January."

Older reports show that El-Sayed previously sharply criticized the killing of the militant Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and senior al-Qaeda figure, calling it "murder without trial." His past ties to the terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood were also revealed. The developments are still not fully clear.