President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. During an event in Las Vegas, Trump labeled El-Sayed as ‘full of’ and argued that Democrats are moving towards communism.
These comments followed El-Sayed’s narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democrat Senate primary. El-Sayed won by less than one percentage point, according to The Associated Press. He will compete against Republican Mike Rogers in the upcoming election for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.
In his Las Vegas speech, Trump spent several minutes targeting democratic socialist candidates, accusing them of promoting communist ideas. He called communism ‘the greatest threat’ facing the United States.
These people are dangerous and frankly, they are lunatics. They’re crazy, and we can’t let them get into office. Communism is the greatest threat to our country in its history, including even World War One, World War Two, Pearl Harbor, 9/11. I think it’s the greatest threat.
The White House highlighted Trump’s remarks on social media, stating, ‘Communism is the greatest threat to our country.’
Mocking the idea of communist policies, Trump visualized what he claimed such policies would entail for Americans.
Trump pointed to Venezuela as an example of a country affected by communist policies.
Look at Venezuela, where it was such a rich country 20 years ago. Every time this has happened, you go through squalor … filth, crime, death, destruction, embarrassment. You lose your home. You lose your apartment.
Calling out El-Sayed by name, Trump sparked significant audience reactions.
When I watch Abdul, he’s full of s—, Trump stated.
El-Sayed’s victory brings a progressive nominee to a key Senate race. Supported by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, El-Sayed advocated for Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, and ending U.S. military aid to Israel. Although identifying as a capitalist, he distanced himself from the Democratic Socialists of America, though Republicans tie him to the broader movement.
Trump reiterated a statement from his presidency.
If you remember, during my State of the Union speech, I made a very strong statement. I said that America will never be a socialist country. I was right,
argued Trump, insisting Democrats are pushing past socialism towards communism.
Trump vowed to counter what he perceives as the Democratic Party’s leftward shift.
Together we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America once and for all. It’s defeated. It’s going to go down. It always goes down.
The White House and El-Sayed’s campaign did not comment immediately when reached by Fox News Digital.
The article includes contributions from Andrew Mark Miller, Kiera McDonald, and Robert Schmad. Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, covering politics, military, legal debates, and culture.