In two late-night posts boosting Republican Senate candidates in Michigan and Texas, President Donald Trump leveled extreme and innuendo-laden attacks against the Democrats running in those races.
At 11:13 p.m. ET on Oct. 7, Trump called Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, whom he referred to as "Mohammed El-Sayed," a "RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer."
“Mohammed goes back to the days of the Jihad,” he wrote.
Nine minutes later, Trump mocked Texas Democrat James Talarico as "James TalaFREAKo," and said he was "MISSING IN ACTION."
“No one has seen him for an extended period of time. Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out,” Trump added, saying Talarico must “immediately” debate Republican Ken Paxton.
Trump offered no evidence for the "Terrorist Sympathizer" allegation, citing only El-Sayed's association with Hasan Piker, a left-wing streamer. El-Sayed has not campaigned with Piker in the general election.
Talarico's campaign, meanwhile, has said the candidate is sick: "After holding more than 100 public events and shaking tens of thousands of hands, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail this weekend." In his post about Talarico, Trump used the phrase “upon information and belief” — a phrase generally used in lawsuits and legal settings to describe an assertion made by a claimant that is believed but not known firsthand.
Talarico challenged Paxton to a Fox News debate moderated by Bret Baier, and the network later agreed to host. The Texas Tribune reported that Talarico has accepted at least four invitations from CNN and local TV stations. If no debate is held, it would be Texas's first Senate race without one in 25 years, the Tribune reported, in an article titled: “Most Texas Republicans ignore Democratic calls to debate in statewide races.”
Paxton’s campaign, the Tribune wrote, “has not responded to repeated requests for comment about whether he ever intends to debate.”
Though Trump’s posts were endorsements of Republican Mike Rogers and Paxton, both men have signalled some displeasure with Trump in the lead-up to the election — though not always publicly.
Earlier Wednesday, Rogers posted an ad on X saying "Canada is not our enemy" and "We need to end this tariff war—now." The ad does not name Trump. Rogers has also called for a swift end to the war in Iran to bring prices down. And in a leaked recording of a meeting with conservative donors, Paxton reportedly told attendees that Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas hurt Republicans. “When we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped,” Paxton said, according to the New York Times.