'DEPORT! DEPORT!' — Crowd Chants as Trump Attacks Ilhan Omar and Calls Abdul El-Sayed a 'Jihadist' at Youngstown Rally
President Donald Trump turned a midterm campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, into one of the most viral political moments of the year on Monday night, as thousands of supporters erupted into repeated "Deport! Deport!" chants while he attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar — hours after federal agents raided the congresswoman's home. Trump also drew gasps calling Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed a "jihadist", escalating a feud defining the final weeks before the November 3 midterms.
The rally at Youngstown's Covelli Centre on Monday, October 12, 2026, was officially a campaign stop for two Ohio Republicans: Sen. Jon Husted, locked in a tight Senate race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor facing Democrat Amy Acton. But the night belonged to Trump's attacks on his favorite political targets.
"Deport!" chants erupt after DHS raid on Omar's home
Trump's attack on Omar came hours after Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant at the congresswoman's Washington, D.C., home on Monday morning, as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. A person familiar with the probe said it relates to alleged immigration fraud, with part of the inquiry focusing on immigration paperwork filed by Omar's late father when she was a child, according to Rappler.
Omar, who has denied any wrongdoing, called the raid "an outrageous abuse of power" and a "weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies." "For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns," Omar wrote on X. "This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced."
At Youngstown, Trump said he had "nothing to do" with the raid, but quickly pivoted to attacking Omar's Somali origins, calling her a "disaster" from "one of the worst countries anywhere on the planet" — and the crowd took it from there. As the Beacon Journal's live coverage reported, "Deport!" chants broke out repeatedly as Trump blamed rising medical and child care costs on Somali immigration, without evidence.
Top Democrats seized on the timing — less than a month before the midterms — as the latest instance of what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders called the "continued corrupt weaponization" of federal law enforcement.
Enjoyed this guide?
Canada Pulse is an independent publication. Every guide is researched, written and carefully edited, and kept free forever. If this saved you time or made your life easier, please don't let the effort go unnoticed — support our work with whatever you can, from $1 upward. Every dollar keeps the guides coming.
💛 Donate via PayPal"Jihadist" attack on Abdul El-Sayed rocks Michigan race
Trump then turned his fire north, targeting Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan. "These people are crazy," Trump said. "You look at the guy running in Michigan. He's a jihadist." He praised El-Sayed's Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, and declared that "Somalia bandits, Third World gangsters, jihadist sympathizers do not belong in Ohio" — triggering another round of "deport" chants at the Covelli Centre.
El-Sayed, born in Michigan to Egyptian immigrant parents, condemned the language. "They point to my name and they point to my faith, trying to distract us from the challenges that we have," he told supporters last Thursday. "My name did not raise your gas prices. My faith is not the reason you can't afford your groceries." Last week, Trump had referred to him on social media by his middle name, Mohamed, and warned the U.S. could become a "jihadist-run country."
Heckler told to "go on a diet" and a $5,000 promise
The rally had its surreal moments too. Minutes after the "Deport!" chants, a heckler screamed out, and Trump dismissed them as a "paid protester" who should "go on a diet" — prompting the crowd to switch to chanting "USA." He later promised $5,000 checks to individual Americans if Republicans win both houses of Congress, drawing "Four more years!" chants, the Beacon Journal reported.
Ohio has become one of the most closely watched battlegrounds of the 2026 midterms. Though Trump carried the state comfortably in 2024, recent polling shows Brown with a narrow advantage over Husted, with some surveys essentially tied. The once-reliably-Democratic Mahoning Valley has shifted sharply Republican in the Trump era, making Youngstown the symbol of the working-class realignment.
Why this rally matters
The Youngstown rally opened a packed final-month travel schedule for Trump, with stops planned through Nebraska, Texas, New York and Tennessee. But the images that traveled furthest overnight were the "Deport!" chants echoing through the Covelli Centre — a sitting U.S. president attacking a congresswoman hours after her home was raided by his own administration's agents.
Sources
- Akron Beacon Journal — President Donald Trump rallies supporters in Youngstown (live updates)
- WION — 'She's a disaster': Trump attacks Ilhan Omar at Ohio rally, calls Abdul El-Sayed a 'jihadist'
- Rappler — US immigration authorities raid home of Democratic Trump critic Ilhan Omar
- NDTV — US lawmaker and Trump critic Ilhan Omar raided, vows she won't "be silenced"
Enjoyed this guide?
Canada Pulse is an independent publication. Every guide is researched, written and carefully edited, and kept free forever. If this saved you time or made your life easier, please don't let the effort go unnoticed — support our work with whatever you can, from $1 upward. Every dollar keeps the guides coming.
💛 Donate via PayPal
