Trump Invites Haley Stevens to Join GOP After Mike Rogers Endorsement: 'She Was Very Brave'

Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images President Donald Trump invited Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) to join the Republican Party after she endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) for the open Senate seat over her fellow Democrat, Abdul El-Sayed. Speaking to rallygoers in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday, Trump praised the former Senate candidate’s bravery for saying “what few people are willing to say,” and called El-Sayed a “jihadist.” “I’m happy with what she did. She was very brave in doing it. So, I don’t know Haley — I’ve never met Haley — but Haley said what few people are willing to say,” the president told a crowd of supporters. “I’d love her to join the Republican Party, actually. I think that could happen.” He continued on, saying Stevens “showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the great people of Michigan” before implying that El-Sayed is a terrorist. “That’s another important election for us. We don’t want to have a jihadist […] Can you imagine, we’ll have to put him through metal detectors […] We’ll have 100 senators, and most of them they can go direct — we’re going to have to get a special metal detector for Abdul,” Trump mused. “A party that hates America cannot be allowed to lead the people who built America,” he added. Trump’s invitation to Stevens followed a positive statement he posted about her on Truth Social earlier in the day, calling her a “Highly Respected Democrat” who has support from across Michigan, “especially our African American and Jewish populations.” “It’s a thing called bravery, and few people have it like just displayed by Congresswoman Haley Stevens!” Trump wrote. Stevens shocked both Democrats and Republicans alike when she withdrew her August endorsement of El-Sayed on Sunday morning, telling Michigan voters that she does not belong on his campaign: Hey Michigan, as you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he’s right. That’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United State Senate today. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign. I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses. A dear friend of mine earlier today was saying that education is on the ballot and she is absolutely right. What our students see, what our children see, and who we are as Michiganders is not hate. And is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now. Tension between Stevens and El-Sayed had risen after their close primary race, with El-Sayed’s campaign reportedly telling Stevens to stay away from his remaining campaign events after she called on him to “denounce antisemitic hate” after he put out an ad criticizing tax dollars being sent to Israel. Stevens’ fiancé, who is Jewish, also recently announced that he is voting for Rogers. Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.