The Argument
- What: Michigan got both parties’ biggest names on back-to-back days. Former President Barack Obama rallied Democrats at Cass Technical High School in Detroit on Saturday, October 24, and President Donald Trump rallied Republicans at McMorran Place in Port Huron on Sunday, October 25, ten and nine days before the November 3 midterms. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2026.)
- The crowds, as estimated by the same newspaper: More than 4,000 attendees, spilling into an overflow space, for Obama in Detroit. About 3,000 people filled the McMorran Place hockey arena for Trump in Port Huron, in what is believed to be the first visit to that city by a sitting U.S. president. Trump himself referenced the crowd comparison and suggested the media would not report it accurately. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2026.)
- The sharpest exchange was about identity, not policy: Obama defended Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed against attacks on his name and faith by comparing them to the false claims that Obama was born in Kenya. Trump, a day later, compared El-Sayed to the 9/11 hijackers. Both characterizations are documented below, with each campaign’s own words. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24, 2026; Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026.)
- The Jackson angle: Every Jackson County ballot on November 3 carries the two races both presidents came to move: El-Sayed vs. former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers for the open U.S. Senate seat, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson vs. U.S. Rep. John James for governor. Early in-person voting opened statewide on Saturday and runs through Sunday, November 1 at assigned Jackson County sites.
Saturday in Detroit: Obama’s circuit breaker
Obama characterized Trump, during a nearly 40-minute speech, as incompetent, corrupt and a grifter, and called the election a circuit breaker. “This election is our last, best chance to at least reign in some of the foolishness of this administration,” he said. “It is the circuit breaker in the system. We gotta flip that circuit breaker.” He argued Democrats must show concrete plans to lower costs and make health care and housing more affordable: “We can’t just be against something, we gotta be for something.” Electing Benson for governor and El-Sayed for Senate is what that future looks like, he said, crediting El-Sayed with fighting to “finish the job we started” with the Affordable Care Act. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24, 2026.)
On the attacks against El-Sayed’s background, Obama said: “They will use lies and they will use fear, and they will use division, and they may even use your name or your faith to somehow suggest that you are dangerous and less than trustworthy, and less patriotic and less American then they are. We have seen this movie before. I starred in it. I’ve got a long form birth certificate to prove it. This stuff didn’t work on me, not in Michigan. It’s not going to work on Abdul.” (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24, 2026.)
El-Sayed told the crowd that seeing Obama run was the first time he saw someone with a similar background in politics, and called Trump not the “disease” in politics but the “worst symptom.” Benson said the next 10 days would determine the future for generations. The Free Press also reported that Sen. Bernie Sanders committed an additional $1 million to El-Sayed’s joint fundraising committee on October 22, after the New York Times reported a pro-Israel group opposing El-Sayed intended to provide up to $9 million for Rogers in the closing days, and that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donated $1 million a week earlier. A Marist University poll cited by the Free Press put Benson ahead of James among likely voters, 51 percent to 45 percent. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24, 2026.)
Sunday in Port Huron: Trump’s 9/11 comparison
Trump spoke for one hour and 45 minutes. “We have to win,” he told the crowd. “You must get out and vote.” He spent much of the speech attacking El-Sayed, claiming without evidence that El-Sayed is a “jihadist” and a “Muslim Brotherhood member” who wants to bring Sharia law to America, the Free Press reported, describing those attacks as false while noting Trump also cited El-Sayed’s past campaign appearances with streamer Hasan Piker and his refusal to say whether Iran or Israel is the greater threat. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026.)
Reuters reported the escalation in its own terms: Trump ratcheted up his push to link El-Sayed to Muslim extremists, comparing him to the 9/11 attackers. “I’m here to keep a jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a United States senator,” Trump said. Comparing a vote against El-Sayed to the actions of Michigan native Todd Beamer and others who fought back against the Flight 93 hijackers, Trump said: “Twenty-five years later, Michigan needs to stand up and fight, just like Todd did, to stop a jihadist from walking into the Capitol.” Trump brought David Beamer, Todd Beamer’s father, to the stage; Beamer said Rogers “is an American” and said El-Sayed, who was born in the U.S., “has a birth certificate” but “is anti-American.” (FACT: Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026; Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026.)
Two facts belong next to that exchange, both on the record. El-Sayed has dismissed the accusations, denied any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, called it “shameful” for Rogers to question his allegiance, and said in a recent advertisement: “Faith is a thing there’s just too little of in Washington.” And Rogers himself, asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier Sunday, distanced himself from the strongest version: “I’ve never called him a terrorist,” Rogers said, while saying El-Sayed had not sufficiently responded to questions about the allegations. As he left the Port Huron venue, Rogers did not respond to Reuters’ questions about Trump’s invocation of 9/11. (FACT: Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026.)
The El-Sayed campaign responded to Sunday’s attacks in a statement: “While they lie and resort to desperate, bad faith attacks, Abdul remains laser-focused on his plans to bring down costs and stand up to the chaos and corruption in Washington.” (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026.)
The surprise guest, and the Canada promise
Rapper Nicki Minaj traveled with Trump on Air Force One and addressed the rally for about two minutes. She led the crowd in chanting “We love Trump,” called this “a major turning point for our country,” and told Trump: “If you run again, I will support you again.” Trump praised her as “a very special person. She gets it, smart.” (FACT: USA Today, Oct. 25, 2026.)
In the border city itself, Trump predicted the trade dispute with Canada would be resolved “soon,” without specifics. “I had to do it,” he said of the tariffs. “We’ll have that settled pretty soon. They’re willing to give us anything at this moment.” The office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The local stakes are measured, not rhetorical: passenger crossings at the Blue Water Bridge, linking Port Huron with Sarnia, Ontario, dropped 21 percent in 2025 from a year earlier, according to Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association data reported by the Free Press, and Port Huron Mayor Anita Ashford said strained U.S.-Canada relations are hurting local restaurants, bars, gas stations and shopping centers. Rogers, on “Meet the Press,” hailed Trump’s tariffs for securing manufacturing investments by Chevrolet and Detroit Diesel but said “the automobile portion of these Canadian tariffs worries me a little bit.” (FACT: Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026; Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026.)
Trump also defended the war with Iran, calling higher gas prices “a small price to pay” for ensuring Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, and repeated a pledge to send $5,000 checks to all American adults, but only if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate. Rogers spoke for about seven minutes before Trump and James for about five, with James leading on gas prices and inflation and linking them to Benson and Democrats in Lansing. Sanders was set to rally with El-Sayed in Grand Rapids on Sunday evening and in Alpena and Ann Arbor on Monday, October 26, and Vice President JD Vance was scheduled to visit Howell on Tuesday, October 27. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2026.)
(COMMENTARY: Strip the weekend down to what is verified and it is still remarkable. A former president told more than 4,000 Detroiters that the loyalty attack on a Senate candidate is a rerun of the birther attack on himself, and produced his own history as the rebuttal. A sitting president answered the next day by comparing that same candidate, a man born in Michigan, to the 9/11 hijackers, on a stage with a 9/11 hero’s father, while his own party’s Senate candidate told a national audience the same morning that he has never called the man a terrorist. Jackson voters do not have to resolve anyone’s soul to vote well this week. They only have to notice which claims arrived with evidence and which arrived with volume, and then do the unglamorous thing both presidents actually agreed on: get out and vote. Early voting is open now, at your assigned site, through November 1.)
What Jackson voters do next
Early in-person voting runs through Sunday, November 1 at your assigned Jackson County site only. Our October 21 guide lists all five county sites and hours: Early voting opens Oct. 24: Jackson County sites and hours. Check your registration and sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote. Polls on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
FAQs
Where and when did Obama campaign in Michigan?
At Cass Technical High School in Detroit on Saturday, October 24, with Abdul El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson, before a crowd of more than 4,000, on the first day of statewide early in-person voting. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24, 2026.)
Where and when did Trump campaign in Michigan?
At McMorran Place in Port Huron on Sunday, October 25, before about 3,000 people inside the arena, speaking for one hour and 45 minutes in what is believed to be the first visit to Port Huron by a sitting U.S. president. (FACT: Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026.)
What did Trump say about El-Sayed and 9/11?
Reuters reported that Trump compared El-Sayed to the 9/11 attackers and to the Flight 93 hijackers, calling him a “jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood member.” The Free Press reported those claims were made without evidence. El-Sayed denies any Muslim Brotherhood affiliation, and Rogers told “Meet the Press” he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist. (FACT: Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026; Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026.)
Did Nicki Minaj really appear at the Port Huron rally?
Yes. She traveled with Trump on Air Force One, spoke for about two minutes, led a “We love Trump” chant, and pledged to support him again if he runs again. (FACT: USA Today, Oct. 25, 2026.)
What did Trump say about Canada tariffs?
That the dispute would be settled “pretty soon” and Canada is “willing to give us anything at this moment,” without specifics. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (FACT: Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026.)
Source links
- Obama skewers Trump as incompetent, corrupt as he rallies Dems in Detroit (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 24, 2026): https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/24/obama-calls-trump-incompetent-as-he-rallies-democrats-in-detroit/92396455007/
- Trump fires up Republicans in Port Huron rally amid midterm push (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 25, 2026): https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/25/trump-rally-port-huron-michigan-midterms/92376457007/
- Trump invokes 9/11 in urging Michigan voters to oppose Muslim Senate candidate El-Sayed (Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026, via Jack 106.5): https://jack1065.com/2026/10/25/trump-campaigns-in-michigan-a-day-after-obama-rallies-democrats/
- Trump says Canada tariff deal coming ‘soon’ at Michigan border rally (Reuters, Oct. 25, 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-canada-tariff-deal-coming-soon-michigan-border-rally-2026-10-25/
- Trump compliments Nicki Minaj at his Port Huron, Michigan rally (USA Today, Oct. 25, 2026): https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2026/10/25/trump-praises-nicki-minaj-butt-michigan-rally/92436573007/
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