President Donald Trump called Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed "a vicious, violent jihadist" in remarks ahead of a trip to the state.
TND says Trump also called El-Sayed a liar ahead of the president's visit this weekend. Trump said he wasn't sure of the day: "Is it Saturday? Sunday?"
Developing, unverified: Trump's claim that El-Sayed is or was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and his claim that El-Sayed is a jihadist. Both are Trump's own assertions. Nothing in the source backs either one.
Here is what Trump said in the remarks, which are in the source transcript. He called El-Sayed "a Muslim brotherhood person who is a jihadist" who "can't be in our Senate." He said El-Sayed "was a member, probably still is, of the Muslim Brotherhood."
Then:
He's a vicious, violent jihadist.
Trump added that El-Sayed "has no place in our government."
He also leaned on the candidate's name. Trump said El-Sayed's middle name "is actually Mohammed" and asked, "I don't know if you know that or not."
The rest was a run of insults. Trump called El-Sayed "a fake," "a total phony," "a little phony" and "a liar." He said "everything about him is fake." He also mocked the idea that El-Sayed is a moderate.
Trump pitched one piece of proof: "All you have to do is look at his statements from two years ago." He did not say which statements.
Trump also said Mike Rogers "will be a great senator."
A Muslim Brotherhood membership claim and a jihadist label are serious charges. The source shows no evidence for either, and it includes no response from El-Sayed.
Trump told you to go look up the statements from two years ago. He didn't say which ones, and he wasn't sure which day he's landing in Michigan.