All the states were on one side of the scale, and Michigan was on the other.

Donald Trump did not see the Michigan Senate race as one seat out of a hundred. He made it a personal fight against one man, Abdulrahman “Abdul” El-Sayed. He mocked his name, attacked his religion and questioned his family. Then on Wednesday morning America woke up to the news: the Associated Press called the race for the Egyptian-American doctor. He is now the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate.

To be honest, El-Sayed did not only beat Mike Rogers. He beat Trump, and he took Michigan from him.

A name Trump wanted to turn into an accusation

Trump used every tool he had against this man. He called him a “terrorist sympathiser” and a “jihadist”, and kept calling him “Mohamed El-Sayed”. At a rally for Rogers he claimed El-Sayed would have to pass through a metal detector before he could enter the Senate. He even compared stopping El-Sayed’s campaign to what the passengers of Flight 93 did when they fought the hijackers on 9/11.

Rogers followed the same path. He tried to link his opponent to the Muslim Brotherhood and called his views extreme. He even claimed El-Sayed believed America “deserved” 9/11. FactCheck.org rated that claim false.

Rogers followed the same path. He tried to link his opponent to the Muslim Brotherhood and called his views extreme. He even claimed El-Sayed believed America “deserved” 9/11. FactCheck.org rated that claim false.

The plan was simple. Make the name “Abdulrahman” sound like a crime, and make voters afraid of a Muslim candidate with an Arabic name. The plan failed.

The answer that became a headline

El-Sayed did not break. He did not change his name and he did not apologise for who he is. He answered with confident humour. At one rally he said Trump seems offended by his first name, but has no problem with it when the money comes from the Gulf.........

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