President Donald Trump made sweeping claims about Democratic candidates during a press conference at the White House, according to Mediaite. He was responding to a question about the type of candidates Democrats are putting forward ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “We have jihadists being elected all over the place,” Trump said. The president did not name any specific politicians when he made the statement. His comment came about a week after he criticized Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim candidate who won Michigan‘s Democratic Senate primary. Trump told reporters that a friend had recently suggested he use the word “jihadist” to describe certain candidates, and he said he agreed the term fit. He compared it to his other claim that the Democratic Party is being taken over by communists. Trump linked the remark to a claim about communism in the Democratic Party El-Sayed’s win in Michigan has drawn other reactions from Republicans as well. Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on the primary result, and his comments included remarks about El-Sayed’s voter base. “[In] other countries, I think that’s not gonna be necessarily the way we want to live,” Trump said. He then criticized the policy ideas of some candidates, saying, “when you look at the radicalism and the craziness of the candidates and the stupidity of what they’re suggesting – let’s get rid of the Supreme Court, let’s get rid of the presidency, let’s get rid of the Senate.” Trump added a personal aside during the same remarks. “Sometimes I’d like to get rid of the Senate too, but I don’t say it,” he said. He went on to describe the candidates in harsher terms, saying they had not achieved success in their own lives. “These are people that have been not successful. They’re people that have been, in many cases, failures,” Trump said. “They come from other failed countries and they come here how to run our country.” Trump initially avoided naming a specific country, saying he did not want to cause controversy. “They come from places like I won’t mention because I don’t want to get myself into controversy,” he said. Moments later, he changed course and named a country directly. “They come from let’s say, as an example, Somalia,” Trump said. This is not the first time Trump has made negative comments about Somalia or Somali immigrants. His past remarks have included rolling back longstanding protections for Somalis. Last year, he said he did not want more Somali immigrants coming to the United States. “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” Trump said at the time. He added, “Some will say that is not ‘politically correct.’ I don’t care. Their country is no good for a reason.” Trump’s comments about Michigan’s voting system also came up in the context of his earlier remarks about El-Sayed. The president had described the state’s voting system as “corrupt” and said Michigan had become “strictly Third World.” Trump closed his remarks on Monday by saying voters do not want the kind of candidates Democrats are currently running. He described them as “radical lunatics” who he said Americans do not want leading the country. The president’s comments were made during a press conference at the White House and were reported by Fox News.