🗞️ Story file #947
Trump criticizes Michigan Senate candidate El-Sayed as jihadist
Oct 25, 4 PM ET to Oct 28, 6 AM ET · 1 outlet not rated for lean
- 36outlets carried it
- 🫏16 · 8 · 11🐘left · center · right
- 2.6 dayson the front pages
- 35front pages at once, at its peak
- 87 minof TV captions
- 34radio newscasts
- 17people retold it online
- 1fact-check
- 2 of 3parts of a saga
👣 How this story traveled: from the front pages that broke it, out through TV, radio and the shows, into what people retold and what fact-checkers examined, and on into the saga it is part of. Everything here is matched to the story by our tools, so a link can be wrong; the trackers' pages say how each is made.
- Oct 25, 4 PM ETfirst on a front page: HuffPost
- Oct 25, 5 PM ETfirst on TV: Fox News
- Oct 25, 6 PM ETfirst on the radio: ABC News Update
- Oct 26, 8 PM ETpeak: on 35 front pages
- Oct 27, 8 AM ETretold online by 17 people
📰 Spread
the front pages that ran it, hour by hour
📡 wire copy: 2 outlets ran the AP, Reuters headline nearly word for word (Chicago Tribune, NPR)
📌 linked by aggregators: Google News Drudge Report Political Wire
💬 quoted: “Jihadist” 2 “Dangerous, Reckless Islamophobia” “jihadist” 2 “Beautiful A**” “beautiful ass” “He Should Not Be Allowed to Serve in Our Senate” “They never talk about my crowd!” “earpiece”
🗣️ only one side says: 🫏 abdul el-sayed 🫏 trump escalates anti-muslim attacks
✏️ 10 outlets ran more than one headline on it (reworded, or a follow-up)
- BBC (2 wordings): “Rapper Nikki Minaj joins Trump onstage at Michigan rally” → “Trump faces backlash after invoking 9/11 in verbal assault on El-Sayed”
- Breitbart (7 wordings): “Trump Blasts ‘Jihadist’ El-Sayed for Portraying Himself as Doctor” → “…Hostin: ‘Dangerous, Reckless Islamophobia’”
- HuffPost (2 wordings): “Trump’s Midterm Swing Brings Him To Michigan As GOP Aims To Undermine El-Sayed” → “Abdul El-Sayed Embraces Trump’s Islamophobic Nickname”
- MSNBC (2 wordings): “Trump attacks Abdul El-Sayed with anti-Islamic rhetoric at rally” → “Trump leans into ugly campaign tactics in final days of Michigan Senate race”
- Newsmax (4 wordings): “Trump Hits Mich. Day After Obama Rallies Dems” → “Trump Steps Up Attacks on El-Sayed in Mich.”
- The Epoch Times (5 wordings): “Trump Participates in Midterm Rally in Perry, Georgia” → “LIVE NOW: Trump Participates in Midterm Rally in Corinth, Mississippi”
- The Washington Post (3 wordings): “Trump calls El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ as he escalates campaign rhetoric” → “Trump calls Senate nominee El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ at Michigan rally”
- Townhall (3 wordings): “Trump Rallies in Michigan, Slams El-Sayed Ahead of Nov. 3 Election” → “Donald Trump Trump Rallies in Michigan, Slams El-Sayed Ahead of Nov. 3 Election Scott McClallen”
- Washington Examiner (5 wordings): “Trump rallies for Mike Rogers in Michigan” → “El Sayed roasts Rogers’s TV stumble and Trump remarks”
- Yahoo News (2 wordings): “Trump invokes 9/11 to attack Abdul El-Sayed in key Michigan Senate race” → “Trump and Obama turn Michigan Senate race into a battle of political heavyweights”
Every outlet's first headline (36), left to right by AllSides rating
HuffPost
Trump’s Midterm Swing Brings Him To Michigan As GOP Aims To Undermine El-Sayed Oct 25, 4 PM ET
MSNBC
Trump attacks Abdul El-Sayed with anti-Islamic rhetoric at rally Oct 26, 8 AM ET
Mother Jones
Trump Ramps Up His Islamophobic Attacks Against Abdul El-Sayed Oct 26, 1 PM ET
Raw Story
'They never talk about my crowd!': Trump seethes over Obama’s rally for Michigan Dem Oct 24, 9 PM ET
The Atlantic
Islamophobia Is Trump’s Closing Midterm Gambit Oct 26, 8 PM ET
The Guardian
Trump intensifies anti-Muslim rhetoric against Abdul El-Sayed at Michigan rally Oct 26, 11 AM ET
Vox
Trump’s vicious closing message in Michigan Oct 26, 7 PM ET
AP
Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan, drawing Arab American rebuke Oct 25, 9 PM ET
Axios
Trump escalates anti-Muslim rhetoric before midterms Oct 27, 6 PM ET
CBS News
Trump attacks El-Sayed over his faith, calls him "jihadist" Oct 26, 5 AM ET
CNBC
Trump invokes 9/11 in urging Michigan voters to oppose Muslim Senate candidate El-Sayed Oct 25, 6 PM ET
Mediaite
Vance Confronted About Trump’s Remark That El-Sayed Is a ‘Jihadist’ Oct 27, 1 PM ET
NPR
Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Oct 26, 6 AM ET- Star Tribune Trump escalates rhetoric against El-Sayed as he tries to undermine Democrat in Michigan Senate race Oct 25, 6 PM ET
The Washington Post
Trump calls El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’ as he escalates campaign rhetoric Oct 25, 9 PM ET
Yahoo News
Trump invokes 9/11 to attack Abdul El-Sayed in key Michigan Senate race Oct 25, 8 PM ET
BBC
Rapper Nikki Minaj joins Trump onstage at Michigan rally Oct 25, 8 PM ET
Bloomberg
Trump Attacks El-Sayed Over Muslim Faith at Michigan Rally Oct 25, 8 PM ET
Chicago Tribune
President Donald Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, drawing Arab American rebuke Oct 25, 9 PM ET
News Nation
Trump, Obama campaign for rival Senate candidates in Michigan Oct 25, 10 PM ET
Newsweek
Trump Tests Midterm Pull in Georgia With Second Rally in Eight Days Oct 24, 5 PM ET
Reuters
Trump campaigns in Michigan a day after Obama rallies Democrats Oct 25, 7 AM ET
Straight Arrow News
Trump faces backlash over remarks about Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed Oct 26, 9 AM ET
The Hill
Mississippi Senate race becomes a test of Trump’s turnout machine Oct 26, 4 PM ET
Just the News
Trump campaigns for Republicans in Michigan with Nicki Minaj ahead of midterms Oct 25, 6 PM ET
The Epoch Times
Trump Participates in Midterm Rally in Perry, Georgia Oct 24, 10 PM ET
The Washington Times
Trump trashes Obama amid campaigning for Senate races in Michigan and Ohio Oct 25, 3 PM ET
Washington Examiner
Trump rallies for Mike Rogers in Michigan Oct 25, 4 PM ET
Breitbart
Trump Blasts ‘Jihadist’ El-Sayed for Portraying Himself as Doctor Oct 25, 7 PM ET
Fox News
Trump escalates attacks on El-Sayed as Michigan Senate race tightens and more top headlines Oct 26, 8 AM ET
IJR
Obama, Trump plan Michigan rallies in Senate fight Oct 25, 12 PM ET
Newsmax
Trump Hits Mich. Day After Obama Rallies Dems Oct 25, 4 PM ET
OAN
Trump, Obama trade criticisms as both campaign in Michigan amid contentious El-Sayed, Rogers Senate race Oct 25, 4 PM ET
The Gateway Pundit
WATCH LIVE: Trump Holds Midterm Rally for Mike Rogers in Port Huron, Michigan With Rapper Nicki Minaj Oct 25, 4 PM ET
Townhall
Trump Rallies in Michigan, Slams El-Sayed Ahead of Nov. 3 Election Oct 26, 1 AM ET
The Washington Sun
Trump Attacks El-Sayed As a ‘Jihadist’ in Anti-Muslim Screeds Oct 25, 7 PM ET
📡 Broadcast
TV, radio, and the shows that talked about it
📺 On TV
- TRUMP & GOP FOCUS MICHIGAN ATTACKS ON RELIGION OVER SOCIALISM CNN, 13 min
- EL-SAYED CAMPAIGN DISAVOWS SUPER PAC AD TYING ISRAEL TO HIGH PRICES CNN, 8 min
- EL-SAYED CAMP DISTANCES FROM AD HIGHLIGHTING U.S. AID TO ISRAEL CNN, 6 min
- TRUMP: "JIHADIST" EL-SAYED WILL TAKE CHRISTMAS AWAY IF ELECTED CNN, 6 min
- TRUMP ESCALATES "JIHADIST" ATTACKS ON MICHIGAN'S ABDUL EL-SAYED CNN, 4 min
- Trump speaks to Democrat challenged on Michigan race BBC News, 4 min
- VANCE ATTACKS MI DEM. SENATE CANDIDATE EL-SAYED CNN, 3 min
- EL-SAYED CAMPAIGN DISAVOWS AD LINKING INFLATION TO ISRAEL CNN, 3 min
📻 On the radio
- NPR News Now, Oct 27, 9:10 PM ET: story 2 of 7
- ABC News Update, Oct 27, 3:32 AM ET: story 2 of 2
- ABC News Update, Oct 26, 11:32 PM ET: story 2 of 3
- NPR News Now, Oct 26, 7:10 PM ET: the lead
- ABC News Update, Oct 26, 5:32 PM ET: story 2 of 3
- NPR News Now, Oct 26, 5:10 PM ET: the lead
- NPR News Now, Oct 26, 4:10 PM ET: the lead
- NPR News Now, Oct 26, 2:09 PM ET: story 2 of 6
- ABC News Update, Oct 26, 1:32 PM ET: the lead
- ABC News Update, Oct 26, 12:32 PM ET: the lead
- NPR News Now, Oct 26, 12:10 PM ET: the lead
- NPR News Now, Oct 26, 11:09 AM ET: story 5 of 7
🧶 Retelling
what people online made of it
🧩 How it's being told
The stories under this news, from our motif index, and who told each: the shows we follow by their lean, people online, fact-checkers. A story people tell, not a claim that it's true; claims are matched to this story by our tools, so a link can be wrong.
- 🧩 Brotherhood candidate
⚖️ 1 center show 🐘 1 right show
↔️ its answer: Islamophobia
“Trump calls Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist and questions his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.” - 🧩 Islamophobia
🧶 online
↔️ its answer: Brotherhood candidate
“Donald Trump and Mike Rogers are using Islamophobia and false claims of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood to target Abdul El-Sayed.” - 🧩 Lampooning the leader
🔎 Snopes
“Trump supporters wore diapers at rallies.”
🧶 Retold online
- Donald Trump and Mike Rogers are using Islamophobia and false claims of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood to target Abdul El-Sayed. Oct 27: told by 17 people; told before on Oct 19
🦋 Widely seen on Bluesky
🦋 a post on Bluesky · 7 likes, 2 reposts
🦋 a post on Bluesky · 3 likes, 1 reposts
On Folklore: the latest in full, with their motifs and who is telling them.
🗣️ names in it: Michigan Donald Trump Barack Obama Senate El-Sayed and Rogers Senate race
🔎 Checking
what the fact-checkers looked into
🧵 Persistence
the running story it belongs to
🧵 Trump Michigan rally events
Trump praises Nicki Minaj at Michigan rally
Oct 26, 11 AM ET
Trump criticizes Michigan Senate candidate El-Sayed as jihadist (this story)
Oct 25, 4 PM ET
Abdul El-Sayed campaign responds to Antisemitic ad controversy
Oct 27, 4 PM ET