US President Donald Trump has described Democratic candidates in the midterm elections as "jihadists," in an apparent reference to Muslim Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed securing his party's nomination for the Michigan primary last week. The remarks fuel a proliferating wave of Islamophobic discourse among Republican lawmakers.

"We have jihadists being elected all over the place, whether it's communism [or] jihadism," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. He added that a friend suggested he use the word "jihadist," and questioned whether Americans want to live like people in other countries.

The president also launched a tirade against people of Somali descent, of whom there are upwards of 260,000 across the US. He called them "not smart," saying they have "no aptitude" and "nothing going" for them to "tell us how to run our country." These statements have drawn widespread criticism from civil rights groups.

Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said Trump's hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric "is putting a target on the back of Muslim elected officials across our nation" and that "this type of dangerous rhetoric is fueling the surge in complaints of anti-Muslim bigotry."

Although the president refrained from naming any individual candidate, hours later he focused on El-Sayed, sharing a photo on Truth Social showing the Democratic contender with two women in headscarves, captioned: "They are coming for your home and your belongings." Trump also called El-Sayed a "hater of Jews" and "hater of Israel," claiming he would bring "filth, crime, death, destruction, embarrassment."

Several other Republicans have also ramped up anti-Muslim rhetoric following El-Sayed's win. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina claimed that "every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic." Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville labeled El-Sayed a "TERRORIST."

El-Sayed hit back on CNN's State of the Union, saying, "Sarah and I actually like each other," adding "I don't know about the first lady and the president, but from what I've heard, it's a bit of a rocky road." He emphasized that he will not be distracted by such attacks.

With less than 90 days until the midterm elections, all 435 House seats and 34 Senate seats are up for grabs. Democrats are confronting an ideological schism between moderate leaders and progressive candidates, some of whom are being characterized as a threat to national security. Trump concluded, "People don't want to have radical lunatics involved in running our country."

Source: www.aljazeera.com