Trump's Anti-Muslim Attacks on El-Sayed May Backfire, Supporters Say

President Trump has been making harsh attacks against Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Michigan. El-Sayed is trying to become the first Muslim senator in American history. At a Sunday rally, Trump made several Islamophobic comments — meaning comments that show fear or hatred toward Muslims. Many people who support El-Sayed believe these attacks will backfire and actually help him win more votes.

At the rally, Trump said El-Sayed is 'on the side of the terrorists.' He also claimed that if Democrats win, they will invite dangerous people into the country. Trump even compared El-Sayed to the hijackers behind the September 11, 2001, attacks. He said El-Sayed should go through a metal detector before entering the Senate.

These comments stand in sharp contrast to past leaders' words. After the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush visited a mosque and said, 'The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. Islam is peace.' Experts say it would be very hard to imagine Trump saying anything like that today.

El-Sayed has tried to brush off the attacks with confidence and humor. At his own rally, he said, 'I'll be Senator Mohamed to you, bro.' Former President Obama, who campaigned alongside El-Sayed, also joked about facing similar attacks himself. 'We have seen this movie before,' Obama said. 'I starred in it.'

Supporters of El-Sayed say Trump's attacks show he is running out of ideas. Policy expert Matt Duss said the Republican Party is using these attacks because 'they have no achievements to run on.' He believes the goal is to scare voters rather than inspire them with real plans.

Michigan has a very large Arab-American community, with between 300,000 and 400,000 residents. Muslim-American activist Abdelhalim Abdelrahman called Trump's attacks 'horrible, disgusting and incendiary.' However, he also said the attacks could make his community more motivated to vote. 'Whenever we endure these kinds of hateful attacks, I think it hardens the resolve of the community,' he said.

El-Sayed's Republican opponent, former congressman Mike Rogers, has been less extreme than Trump in his language. Rogers said, 'I've never called him a terrorist,' but he still suggested El-Sayed had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a political group in the Middle East. The TV host interviewing Rogers pointed out that Rogers himself once said the U.S. should reach out to 'moderate Muslim Brotherhood individuals.' Rogers said she was misrepresenting his words.

Polls show El-Sayed has a small lead heading into Election Day. Decision Desk HQ gave El-Sayed a 67 percent chance of winning as of Monday. He was leading Rogers by just under 2 percentage points, making the race very tight.

Political experts say Trump's attacks might actually be pulling more Democrats together behind El-Sayed. Michigan pollster Richard Czuba compared it to when Trump attacked Governor Gretchen Whitmer — and she ended up winning by a large margin. 'Every time Trump opens his mouth and attacks him, Democrats put aside their concerns and rally to his side,' Czuba said.

Still, some experts remind us that the economy matters most to many voters. Professor David Dulio of Oakland University said the race is mainly driven by economic issues like rising gas prices. He noted that while some voters are energized by Trump's attacks, the final result is still uncertain. 'The state of the race is: It's close,' he said.