Trump Warns of Jihadists in Democratic Party

President Donald Trump warned on Monday that "jihadists" are being elected to public office across the United States, escalating his midterm campaign rhetoric and drawing sharp criticism from Muslim civil rights advocates who said his language endangers elected officials. The comments, made during an Oval Office signing ceremony, represent a new line of attack for the president, who has increasingly targeted progressive Democratic candidates in the weeks following a historic primary victory by Abdul ElSayed in Michigan.

When asked by a reporter what advice he would give Republican candidates ahead of November's midterm elections, Trump recounted a conversation with a friend. "He said, 'You know, really, you should use the word jihadist because that's what's happening,'" Trump said. "We have jihadists being elected all over the place. We have this whether it's communism, jihadism." The president did not name any specific individuals but suggested the trend was part of a broader pattern of radicalism he attributes to the Democratic Party's left flank.

The remarks come just days after ElSayed, an Egyptian-American physician, won the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan on August...