Trump's Midterm Rallies Lean on Slurs and Culture War

President Donald Trump called Abdul El-Sayed, a U.S.-born Michigan Democrat, a “jihadist” Tuesday night in North Carolina. Then he told the crowd, “if you have any problem with names, just call the guy Mohammed. You’ll probably be right.” The remarks joined a string of rally lines this week drawing on religious and racial stereotypes as Trump barnstorms Republican-leaning states ahead of the midterms.

El-Sayed, the target, is the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, a top battleground where Republicans hope to flip an open seat. He was born in the United States and was scheduled to meet Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers on Wednesday night in the race’s final scheduled debate.

Slurs on the Stump

At a Kansas rally Monday, Trump said, “Americans are going to stand up and declare that we will protect our civilization, we will preserve our religion, our values and our heritage, and we will never let our nation be conquered or destroyed by people that hate us.” He also used “Shylock,” an antisemitic slur, while defending Republican Sen. Roger Marshall against criticism over medical billing practices. CNN noted Trump had used the term publicly in 2025, too.

Trump also told the Kansas crowd that Democratic Senate nominee Adam Hamilton had told people to “repent because you were born White.” CNN described that as a misrepresentation of Hamilton’s broader comments on race, self-reflection and personal faith. Trump then questioned Hamilton’s standing as a religious leader in the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. “He doesn’t act like a pastor because his views aren’t of a pastor,” Trump said.

On Tuesday, Trump attacked Somali-born Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and questioned whether she was entitled to constitutional rights because she came from what he called a “shithouse” country. Vice President JD Vance made a related remark Monday, joking that a protester at one of his events must have crossed the border illegally to behave that way.

Claims About Children, Without Evidence

In Arizona this month, Trump warned that a Democratic Congress would mean children undergoing gender transitions at school without parental consent. “They want to mutilate, cut your children. It’s unbelievable, what they do. ... Your son leaves as Jimmy and comes back home in three days as Janet, and they don’t even ask you,” he said. CNN called the claims baseless and reported Trump repeated similar stories in Georgia last week and in North Carolina Tuesday evening.

Trump also warned that unrest in France could spread to the United States if Democrats won. He said socialists and communists wanted to obliterate the republic.

A Safe State, and Voters’ Real Worries

On Wednesday, Trump was scheduled to appear at Clemson University in South Carolina for appointed Sen. Darline Graham, sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who took over the remainder of her brother’s term after his death. She is seeking a full term against Democrat Annie Andrews. Graham won the GOP nomination in a primary runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman by about five percentage points. South Carolina isn’t a battleground. Trump carried it in 2024 by nearly 18 percentage points.

The schedule then takes him to Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Texas. CNN noted White House strategists hadn’t sent Trump that week to the swing states with the closest races. His rhetoric coincided with visits to Republican-leaning states aimed at boosting turnout among conservative voters and supporting vulnerable Republicans.

Even some Republicans doubt the strategy. Mark Sanford, the party’s former governor of South Carolina, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the focus on transgender children misses what voters are telling him. “I think it’s off-topic because the preponderance of folks that I talked to in and around South Carolina are worried about the economy, they’re worried about affordability. They’re worried about inflation,” Sanford said. “I guess it’s a way of changing the subject if what’s going on isn’t working for you ... but I don’t see this as the issue that’s going to move swing voters.”

Elsewhere Wednesday night, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall was set to debate Democrat Adam Hamilton for a second time in a deeply Republican state where the Senate race has become competitive. In Wisconsin, a major swing state, Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was set to face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in their only scheduled governor’s debate.

Why This Matters:

The president’s words land on real people: a U.S.-born candidate recast as a foreign threat because of his name, a congresswoman whose constitutional rights were publicly questioned, and a pastor-candidate whose faith was dismissed. Rhetoric that treats religion, ancestry or birthplace as grounds for doubting someone’s place in American life carries consequences beyond one campaign, shaping what people feel free to say and who feels welcome in public life. CNN called the claims about schools and children baseless, and they also steer attention away from the economic pressures Sanford says voters raise most. Voters will decide in two weeks whether these appeals move them. Wednesday night’s scheduled debates give them a chance to hear candidates address the economy and affordability directly.