US President Donald Trump has mocked the popularity of the name Mohammad among Muslims while making remarks about Iran’s presidency during a campaign rally in Georgia.
Trump made the comments on Friday, October 16, while addressing supporters at Dalton Municipal Airport ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
“You know, if you’re in doubt about somebody’s name from the Middle East, just say ‘Mohammad,’” Trump told the crowd. “You have about a 65% chance. ‘Hello, Mohammad.’ I’ve done it for years now. I’ve never been wrong.”
Mohammad is one of the most common male names among Muslims, many of whom name their sons after Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Trump made the remark while discussing Iran and joking that nobody wanted to become the country’s president.
“Iran is the only country where nobody wants to be president,” he said before pretending to ask several people named Mohammad whether they wanted the position.
Masoud Pezeshkian has served as Iran’s president since 2024.
According to Reuters, the crowd gave Trump’s joke a muted response.
Trump faces criticism over remarks about Muslims
Trump’s comments come amid renewed criticism of his rhetoric about Muslims, immigrants and ethnic minorities.
Rights advocates and Muslim advocacy groups have repeatedly accused the president of using language that stigmatises these communities.
During the current midterm campaign, Trump has intensified his criticism of Somali and Muslim Americans, including Muslim Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, who came to the United States as a Somali refugee.
Trump also reiterated his vow that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon, seven months after the United States and Israel launched a war against Tehran aimed partly at crippling its nuclear programme.
An annual report released earlier in 2026 by the Council on American-Islamic Relations attributed rising Islamophobia in the US partly to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and its response to pro-Palestinian protests.
The remarks have added to ongoing debates about religious discrimination, immigration and political rhetoric in the United States.
