‘Much Darker Turn’; Nets FLIP OUT at Trump’s ‘Inflammatory & False’ Swipes at El-Sayed

ABC, CBS, and NBC turned their lead Monday morning newscasts into hyper-active spin sessions for their liberal candidates of choice — particularly Michigan Democrat and “unabashed progressive” Abdul el-Sayed — and smear campaigns against President Trump for “intensifying his attacks” toward “a much darker turn” with “inflammatory and false attacks” on el-Sayed.

ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) was predictably over the top, even in the teases. Co-host George Stephanopoulos lived up to his billing as a former Democrat official, gushing over former President Obama “helping Democrats make their closing argument with control of the Senate at stake, and the rising cost of living top of voters’ minds” as a contrast to Trump “attacking” el-Sayed.

Stephanopoulos then sneered in his toss to correspondent Jay O’Brien: “Presidents Trump and Obama held dueling rallies in Michigan. The President unleashing inflammatory and false attacks on Democrat Abdul el-Sayed. Obama, arguing, we’ve been down this road before.”

O’Brien said “both parties deploy[ed] their heavyweights for a closing pitch,” but only framed one in a positive light.

For Trump, he huffed: “The President call[ed] el-Sayed, who would be the nation’s first Muslim senator, an Islamic extremist, even comparing electing el-Sayed to the September 11 attacks.”

“El-Sayed has called Trump’s attacks on his faith Islamophobic and a distraction from voters’ concerns about the economy...The unabashed progressive joined by President Obama over the weekend, who called the attacks on el-Sayed familiar,” O’Brien added.

Ahead of a pro-Democrat anecdote from an Iowa farmer who’s undecided on his Senate vote due to the price of diesel, all O’Brien had to say about Obama was that the former President “[took] aim at what he says is President Trump’s preoccupation with White House renovations.”

In the second hour, both Stephanopoulos doubled down on his swipe, and O’Brien returned for a truncated version of his report, arguing “el-Sayed has vehemently denied any links to Islamic extremism.”

But back in the first hour, GMA had another midterms report that engaged in shameless gaslighting, asserting President Trump has already undermined Americans’ confidence in next Tuesday’s results (even though they themselves were doing just that).

Chief Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas complained about Justice Department suits in Alaska and California (click “expand”):

THOMAS: So far, DOJ is seeking to intervene in two states that could have a major impact on the makeup of Congress. We’ve seen nothing like it in recent times, and states are defiant, basically saying: See you in court. With voters already casting ballots, the Trump administration is taking new, unprecedented legal action to challenge state elections and assert federal power as states hit back in a fight that creates uncertainty down the stretch to the midterm elections. In Alaska DOJ filed a lawsuit less than two weeks before Election Day to block certification of that state’s election if the Republican Senate candidate narrowly loses. At issue are the names appearing on Alaska’s ballot. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who’s running for reelection, but another candidate, retired school teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, is also running, which Blanche argues could sow confusion. Attorney General Todd Blanche denying the Department of Justice is laying the groundwork to overturn election results.

ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCE [on CNN’s State of the Union, 10/25/26]: We should not have a candidate who has to worry about another candidate being on the ballot for no other reason than to confuse voters.

THOMAS: Still, neither Blanche nor President Trump, who says he told the Justice Department to file the lawsuit, have cited any law they believe would be broken.

TRUMP: I think it’s illegal because it’s unfair. I mean, it’s unfair. You don’t — you want — you want fairness in voting.

THOMAS: The Constitution says states, not the federal government, have jurisdiction over their own elections. Critics claim DOJ, at Trump’s bidding, is overstepping its authority.

SENATOR ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA) [on NBC’s Meet the Press, 10/25/26]: It’s not the federal government’s business to run Alaskan elections. It’s Alaska’s business to do that. And they’ve already adjudicated this question. And the Justice Department knows this, but it just shows how complicit they are now in the Trump campaign to try to subvert the elections.

THOMAS: This comes as DOJ is demanding California’s state election officials set aside more than 20,000 ballots that they claim likely belong to non-citizens, requesting Social Security numbers and other personal information on those potential voters. According to the Brennan Center, since May of 2025, the administration has filed lawsuits against 30 states to hand over election-related records. 26 have been dismissed. DOJ also threatening California state election officials with prison time if they allow non-citizens to vote. A three-judge panel holding an emergency hearing on Sunday, with at least two judges appearing highly skeptical of DOJ’s actions.

In Alaska earlier this year, the networks reveled in the dirty tricks happening with a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot alongside the incumbent Republican Senator by the same name.

Thomas closed by having the gall to downplay and even excuse voter fraud: “Something viewers should keep in mind: Credible studies have shown no evidence of widespread voter fraud or evidence of non-citizens voting in big enough numbers to have a significant impact on elections.”

At NBC’s Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie decried the “slugfest” between Obama and Trump as the two “[got] person, trading jabs.”

Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez remarked that “[i]t was quite the weekend in politics,” but fretted: “[T]he campaign is taking a much darker turn, with Trump ramping up his rhetoric against the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, accusing him of being a jihadist.”

“This morning, the midterm blitz is in its final stretch, while voters are worried about the economy, some races, like in battleground Michigan, are focusing on personal attacks,” Gutierrez argued, suggesting Republicans are unconcerned with the issues (and thus Democrats are).

Gutierrez took el-Sayed’s word for it that he has no ties to or positive feelings toward the Muslim Brotherhood (click “expand”):

GUTIERREZ: Donald Trump campaigning in battleground Michigan, lashing out against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed. El-Sayed has faced repeated attacks from Republicans over the Muslim Brotherhood. The U.S. has labeled branches of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organizations. Although his half-sister praised the Muslim Brotherhood in social media posts more than a decade ago, el-Sayed has repeatedly denied any ties to it.

EL-SAYED: We have no ties.

GUTIERREZ: But the President is intensifying his attacks on the Michigan-born Muslim candidate —

TRUMP: We don’t want to see a jihadist senator. [SCREEN WIPE] Anyone with that record or support for jihad would be screened and unable to get a seat on an airplane. [SCREEN WIPE] He will be the only senator that would have to go through a metal detector before being allowed to go into the Senate.

GUTIERREZ: — while also praising el-Sayed’s rival, Republican Mike Rogers.

TRUMP: I call him apple pie. He’s, like, perfect — this guy.

GUTIERREZ: NBC’s Kristen Welker pressing Rogers earlier on Meet the Press about whether he agrees with the President calling el-Sayed a terrorist.

FORMER CONGRESSMAN MIKE ROGERS (R-MI) [on NBC’s Meet the Press, 10/25/26]: I’ve never called him a terrorist.

GUTIERREZ: Trump even attacking el-Sayed at a rally in Georgia earlier in the weekend.

TRUMP: Mohammad, as I call him. Actually, his middle name is Mohammad. You know, if you have any question about somebody from that part of the world’s name, just call them Mohammad.

GUTIERREZ: Last night, el-Sayed responding to the President.

EL-SAYED: Because he can just go on and call me senator after November. [SCREEN WIPE] I will be Senator Mohammad to you, bro.

In contrast, Obama was a footnote to Gutierrez, sharing that the former President “[took] aim at the President’s changes to the White House.”

Monday’s CBS Mornings similarly led off with the midterms. Co-host, Democrat donor, and Obama family friend Gayle King boasted in a tease that the weekend was marked by “a clash of the Presidents, you can say, on the campaign trail” with “blistering attacks” leveled.

Co-host Norah O’Donnell cued up chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes by lamenting Trump “lashed out at Obama and launched his toughest attack yet on the Democrat who would be the first Muslim U.S. Senator.”

For her part, Cordes said “President Trump took aim at Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed and his Muslim faith,” but el-Sayed “denied any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and hit back at a rally with Senator Bernie Sanders.”

Like Gutierrez, Cordes also footnoted Obama spent the weekend going “after Trump’s renovation projects and the now-ornate Oval Office.”

She touted both CBS polls claiming voters believe it’d be better for gas prices if Democrats take over the Capitol, and the Justice Department’s Alaska suit (click “expand”):

CORDES: Trump voted early this weekend in his home state of Florida. Roughly 30 million Americans have already voted in person or by mail, smashing midterm records in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia. According to the latest CBS News Model estimate, Democrats are on pace to win 229 seats in the House, 11 more than they need to take control. And with the war, with Iran still slowing the supply of oil, 50 percent of likely voters say gas prices are likely to go up if Republicans win, compared to 30 percent who say that about Democrats.

TRUMP: It’s not a big hit. I thought gasoline would go up much more.

CORDES: On Face the Nation, Attorney General Todd Blanche defended a new lawsuit from the Department of Justice to block certification of Alaska’s election if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses. There’s another candidate on the ballot with the same name.

ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCE [on CBS’s Face the Nation, 10/25/26]: There is no dispute that the only reason the second Dan Sullivan is running is to pull votes away in a confusing and inappropriate manner from the Dan Sullivan incumbent.

Like O’Brien (and Gutierrez), Cordes came back in the second hour to double down on the key lines of attack and defense.

For a second segment, O’Donnell brought in White House and campaign correspondent Ed O’Keefe, who dove further into the polls. But, as we’ve seen throughout this campaign, there was nary a mention of what the left has actually offered to voters they would do with power.

To see the relevant transcripts from October 26, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).