Trump delivered the joke in a hangar at Dalton Municipal Airport, saying, "If you’re in doubt about someone’s name from the Middle East, just say ‘Mohammad,’ you have about a 65% chance. Hello, Mohammad." The comment was part of a broader tirade about Iran, where he declared, “Iran is the only country where nobody wants to be president.”
Masoud Pezeshkian has been president of Iran since 2024, and Trump’s remarks about the nation’s leadership came just months after the U.S. and Israel intensified pressure on Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump’s speech also mocked the Iranian presidency, a move that echoes earlier attacks on Muslim Americans such as Senator Ilhan Omar and former candidate Abdul El‑Sayed.
The crowd’s reaction was muted; a few chuckles broke out, but most listeners remained silent. Ahmed Khan, a 22‑year‑old Muslim student from Dalton, told a friend that the joke felt “dehumanizing” and that he was “not surprised the crowd didn’t get it.”
The Council on American Islamic Relations released a report earlier this year linking Trump’s immigration crackdown and anti‑pro‑Palestinian protests to a rise in Islamophobia. Council director Shahnaz Jafri said, “The rhetoric from the former president has only amplified the hostility faced by Muslims in the United States.”
Trump’s remarks are part of a campaign strategy aimed at energizing Republican voters in swing states. He will next turn to South Carolina and Ohio, where he plans to hold rallies that promise to keep Iran on his political radar as the November 3 elections loom.