Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed fired back at President Trump on Thursday after the president suggested that El-Sayed, if elected, should be forced to pass through a metal detector at the U.S. Capitol. Speaking at a campaign rally in Kalamazoo, El-Sayed said he would agree to the demand on one condition: Trump must sit for a lie detector test.
El-Sayed tied his challenge to Trump’s relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and the president’s false claims that he won the 2020 election. “I’ll go through a metal detector every day. You sit through a lie detector one time,” El-Sayed told the crowd. “That’s the deal.”
The White House rejected El-Sayed’s accusation. In a statement to The Hill on Friday, spokesperson Lauren Bis said Trump has been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.” Bis added that the president has released thousands of pages of documents, cooperated with a House Oversight Committee subpoena, signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and called for further investigations into Epstein’s Democratic associates. “President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him,” Bis said.
El-Sayed is locked in a competitive race against Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former congressman. The president and Rogers have repeatedly attacked El-Sayed over his faith and background, accusing him of ties to Islamic extremist groups. El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim senator if he wins, has denied those allegations. The race has drawn national attention as a test of Trump’s influence in a key battleground state.
During his Thursday rally, El-Sayed also seized on Trump’s repeated calls for voters to treat the midterms as a referendum on him. “Kalamazoo, on Tuesday, I want you to vote like Donald Trump is on the ballot because Donald Trump is on the ballot,” El-Sayed said. “His war in Iran is on the ballot. His tariff war is on the ballot. His big ugly bill is on the ballot.”
The contest to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters remains highly competitive. As of Friday, nonpartisan election handicapper Decision Desk HQ gave El-Sayed a 73 percent chance of winning, while Rogers’s odds stood at about 27 percent. The Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss-up.”
El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic primary over Rep. Haley Stevens earlier this summer. Stevens is expected to campaign with El-Sayed over the weekend, even after her fiancé said he would support Rogers. The rally with Stevens could help consolidate Democratic support in the final stretch.
The metal detector exchange is the latest flashpoint in a race that has featured sharp personal attacks. Trump’s suggestion that El-Sayed should be screened at the Capitol echoed his broader rhetoric against political opponents. El-Sayed’s response, invoking Epstein and Trump’s election falsehoods, signals he intends to fight back aggressively. With polls showing a tight race, both parties are pouring resources into Michigan.
For more on how Trump’s midterm strategy is playing out in key states, see our coverage of the South Carolina Senate race and Trump’s shift to virtual events. And for a look at how other Democrats are positioning themselves against the president, read about Mark Kelly’s rising profile.
