‘She’s a disaster’: Trump attacks Ilhan Omar at Ohio rally, calls Abdul El-Sayed a ‘jihadist’

United States President Donald Trump began his campiagn week of red-state with first rally in Ohio, where Republicans are fighting to hold onto a Senate seat that could be key to the majority. Trump criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, at a rally for Republican candidates in Youngstown, Ohio. As Trump took the stage and targeted the Democratic leaders, chants of “deport” echoed at the venue. The 2026 United States midterm elections are scheduled to take place on Tuesday (Nov 3).

Also Read: 'I will not be silenced': Ilhan Omar alleges political intimidation after federal officers search her Washington home

On calls to deport Ilhan Omar, Trump said: “I don’t know what they’re doing with it, but I can tell you this: She’s a disaster.” He went on to target immigrants from Somalia and Haiti. “She comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military, where all they do is shoot each other, and she comes into our country and she says, ‘I have a constitutional right,’” Trump said. “She’s telling us about the Constitution, and she comes from one of the worst countries anywhere on the planet," Trump added. The president then spoke of Somali gang activity in Minnesota and mentioned a thwarted shooting at the state’s Mall of America, alleging that it was plotted by an American-born US citizen of Somali descent.

Trump targets El-Sayed

Trump also targeted El-Sayed in the same speech. He called him “crazy.” “You look at the guy running in Michigan. He’s a jihadist.” Trump went on to praise El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, before he again referred to El-Sayed as a “jihadist” and proclaimed that “Somalia bandits, Third World gangsters, jihadist sympathizers do not belong in Ohio." He added: “They don’t belong in America. Better get them the hell out of here.”

Also Read: US federal agents raid Dem Rep Ilhan Omar’s home ahead of midterms

Search at Ilhan Omar's house

This came after Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that the search was conducted on Ilhan Omar's house as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. A Justice Department spokesperson said that Homeland Security Investigations “executed a judicially authorized search warrant” as “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.” The statement did not specify that the investigation was related to Omar, nor did it provide more information about the search. Omar, a Democratic representative from Minnesota reacted saying “I'm ok.” “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponise federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced,” she added in a post on X. Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, Trump said he had “nothing to do” with the search of Omar’s home.