© Zbigniew Bzdak for The New York Times
At a town hall in Midland, Michigan, on Saturday, Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) said the 2nd Amendment boils down to protecting "equal rights to a musket."
The post Democrat Abdul El-Sayed: Second Amendment Protects ‘Equal Rights to a Musket’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia, Michigan Senate hopeful has challenged premise of repeated questions on Muslim Brotherhood, Israel and faith
As a candidate positioned at the center of what researchers say are the worst Islamophobic attacks seen since the aftermath of 9/11, many would expect Abdul El-Sayed to simply defend himself and move on.
Instead, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan has repeatedly demanded those who question his positions on Israel, the Muslim Brotherhood, and his faith, explain the premise of their enquiry. Rather than let others put his loyalties on trial, he has tried to put their assumptions on trial.
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© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Michigan senate race between Republican candidate Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has turned into the marquee matchup of the 2026 midterm, both as a test of the far left’s ability to compete in middle America and as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s leadership. So what will tip the balance?
While many of the basic factors of this contest have already been built in, such as El-Sayed’s disdain for Israel, and Rogers, somewhat qualified, support for the president’s policies, there are a few points emerging that could prove decisive in the final two weeks.
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Here are five factors that still could sway who some late deciders vote for, or whether they turn out to vote at all.
Policy differences aside, Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed are very different people with very different temperaments, and voters Fox News Digital spoke with in Michigan could see, in the same temperamental attributes, either a positive or negative light.
For example, Leon in Detroit, a city employee in his 40s who supported El -Sayed’s opponent Haley Stevens in the primary, said of Abdul, "He just comes off arrogant, like he’s talking down to everybody," but young voters I spoke with in Grand Rapids called this attitude, "confidence," and "assertiveness."
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On the ground, one could almost describe the race as a Thanksgiving dinner in which Rogers is your calm, conservative, wealthy uncle and El-Sayed is the new college boyfriend who keeps talking about how terrible American capitalism is and why the football game on tv is toxic, Michigan voters must choose who they hope will be there next year..
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Back in August, when El-Sayed won a one point victory over Stevens, despite polls showing him up by double digits, it was the aggressive far left ground game, especially in semi urban areas like Dearborn, from groups like the Democratic Socialists of America that saved his bacon.
FOX NEWS POLL: MICHIGAN VOTERS SPLIT BETWEEN EL-SAYED AND ROGERS
As Tiffany Justice, Senior Advisor for Citizen’s Alliance told Fox News Digital, " Michigan elections are won at the margins, and the voters who decide them are working-class conservatives who agree with us but don't have a habit of voting. A TV ad won't get them there. A neighbor knocking on their door, looking them in the eye, and personally inviting them to the polls will."
Rogers claims that the GOP ground game has been improving in the Wolverine State, and he better hope so, in fact the money men on the right might need to shift a bit from ads on screens to faces at screen doors.
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You didn’t really think we could leave the president out of this, did you? El-Sayed has dared Trump to campaign with Rogers in Michigan, and Trump has decided to oblige him with a rally set for Sunday, October 25th, just a day after former President Barack Obama will rally with Abdul.
MIKE ROGERS PRESSES CNN'S DANA BASH ON WHY THE PRESS IS 'EAGER' TO DEFEND ABDUL EL-SAYED
Rogers, for his part, has distanced himself from Trump both on the conflict in Iran and on the Canadian tariff war, and notably has done so with no blowback from the commander in chief, a Trump rally will bring out much needed MAGA voters, but could it also alienate independent voters just days before the election.
El-Sayed’s family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his past statements in support of it, have become central to this race, even after Abdul’s hand-waving "sort of" disavowal of the group in a testy town hall exchange, and the backdrop to this issue is the pro Islamist riots in France.
Americans, including voters in Michigan, are increasingly looking towards Europe, with its burning buildings in Limoges and trampling of free speech in London, as a warning of what happens when a nation has untrammeled immigration without assimilation.
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If these riots persist and get worse, both Rogers and El-Sayed will have to address them and the undertones will be clear as day to Michigan voters.
On Wednesday, Rogers and El-Sayed will take the stage for their second and final debate, the first having been contentious, but arguably without a knockout blow for either man. The electorate is much more keyed in than it was on October 8th, when they first sparred, making this the biggest chance either side has to attract new votes.
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How aggressive will El-Sayed be, and can he do it without voters like Leon thinking he is condescending? Can Mike Rogers keep his cool, and should he? In a race this close, one viral moment could make all the difference.
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With 2 weeks left to go, the Michigan senate race sits on a knife’s edge, and any of these 5 factors could tip it to one side or to the other.
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CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is taking heat from the left yet again, this time over a report urging her staff to probe Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's potential ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Semafor reported Sunday that Weiss "personally advocated for CBS News journalists to pursue numerous story angles related to El-Sayed’s supposed sympathy towards the Muslim Brotherhood."
The report cited two anonymous CBS News staffers who were aggrieved by Weiss' directive. Anonymous CBS News staffers complaining about their boss to liberal media outlets has become commonplace in the media industry.
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham believes disgruntled CBS News employees constantly offering anonymous quotes to liberal publications in an effort to smear Weiss "helps reinforce" the longstanding bias toward the left.
"She’s making them do difficult things," Graham told Fox News Digital.
"Can we look into whether Abdul El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, like his family says they do? How dare you," Graham quipped. "You’re not supposed to do stories that might make Democrats look bad."
While Weiss’ defenders have suggested staffers are essentially irked that she asked them to do journalism, progressives lashed out against Weiss over the latest report.
"A rightwing, pro-Israel, anti-Muslim troll who has zero qualifications to be running national TV network is in fact running a national TV network and trying to get it to behave like a rightwing, pro-Israel, anti-Muslim troll," far-left Zeteo founder and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan reacted on X.
"No self-respecting journalist should work for Bari Weiss," The Nation correspondent Jeet Heer wrote.
"Nobody should respect or trust ANYTHING coming out of @CBSNews at this point," far-left activist Shaun King exclaimed.
Notably, CBS News largely refrained from covering the controversy that blew up last week when unearthed social media posts from his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, claimed their family, including their mother, had ties to the controversial Islamist group after he flatly denied there was any connection to NBC's Kristen Welker.
"Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect," Abdelhadi wrote in a 2012 X post, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
Their mother, Fatten Elkomy, had attended Egypt's Alexandria University, which, according to a report from the Brookings Institution, had strong Muslim Brotherhood activity back in the 1970s.
In another 2012 post, Abdelhadi, a professor at the University of Chicago, wrote, "My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively."
In a third post from 2013, she wrote, "Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt. Lie low, stay safe."
Graham feels that CBS News staffers who didn’t want to look into the El-Sayed story must find it "wildly offensive" to even consider a conservative point of view.
"They object [to] the idea that they have to be somehow a little bit fair and balanced," Graham said.
As for El-Sayed, he recently doubled down on his denial during a contentious exchange with NBC's Tom Llamas.
"It's funny to me," El-Sayed responded. "I was born in 1984 down the street in Rochester Hills. I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in this city, led the health department in this county — and you want to ask me about what's happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?"
"I get it, but you were asked a question, and you gave an answer," Llamas responded.
"I have no ties, we have no ties," El-Sayed said, reiterating his denial.
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The Democratic hopeful told Llamas he hadn't had conversations with his mother about her alleged Muslim Brotherhood activity and accused the anchor of using "hearsay evidence from a tweet."
"That's just not serious," El-Sayed said.
"But you've also gone after the president for truthfulness and when people ask you a question, do you expect the truth?" Llamas then asked.
"Are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?" El-Sayed fired back.
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking," Llamas responded.
"And I'm telling you that I was not," El-Sayed told him.
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In an interview on MS NOW, El-Sayed likened the questions about his family allegiances to ones John F. Kennedy faced as a Catholic while running for president in 1960.
Timmy Teepell’s firm paid $250,000 by America Next, which has been trying to gin up ‘organic’ opposition to El-Sayed
The man who attempted to ambush the Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with a question about his supposed allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhood – which El-Sayed parlayed into a viral clip for his campaign – is the son of a political operator who recently received $250,000 for “canvassing and influencer marketing” against El-Sayed, the Guardian has learned.
In the now-famous exchange, a man – first identified by the Handbasket as Thomas “Tommy” Teepell – asked El-Sayed if he would “disavow” the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed said he would, but then asked: “What are you implying? Do you assume that I wouldn’t?” What followed was a five-minute exchange that has drawn over 50m views across several social media platforms, in which El-Sayed queries the man about the guarantees of religious freedom in the constitution.
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© Photograph: Jim West/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Jim West/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Jim West/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
Republicans made their pitch to Michigan voters at a Fox News town hall Monday night, with GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers arguing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is vulnerable among Black and Jewish voters as one of the nation's most closely watched Senate races enters its final two weeks.
Fox News host Sean Hannity also spoke with Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. John James and House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., as the candidates sought to tie Michigan Democrats to government spending, socialism and the party's progressive wing ahead of Nov. 3.
Early on in the night, Rogers argued that his opponent, El-Sayed, could underperform among a handful of key demographics that traditionally support Democratic candidates, presenting political opportunities for Republicans.
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Hannity pressed Rogers about El-Sayed's past criticism of former President Barack Obama, whom El-Sayed described as "not the right choice" to advance a progressive agenda following Obama's 2012 re-election.
"He is dismissive in Detroit. We have just dozens of black pastors that we have talked to, neighborhood leaders in the city of Detroit that we’ve talked to. They’re looking for a change," Rogers said.
Notably, Obama is scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed in Detroit on Oct. 24 and has released a video urging voters to support the Democratic nominee.
ROGERS WARNS MICHIGAN VOTERS AGAINST EL-SAYED’S ‘EXTREME’ AGENDA AHEAD OF ELECTION
Rogers argued the Jewish community could present a unique opportunity for Republicans amid El-Sayed's criticism of Israel.
Recently, El-Sayed declined to answer whether he viewed Iran or Israel as a greater threat.
"I think both of them have proven dangerous in their own way. One, at risk of attacking us. One, getting us into wars we have no business fighting," El-Sayed said in a recent debate.
Rogers noted that if only half of Jewish Democratic voters in Michigan felt alienated by El-Sayed’s remarks enough to support his campaign, it would provide a significant boost.
"There are about 70,000 Jewish Democrats. If we get half of them to vote for us, which we think — we had an event last night. Had over 1,000 people at it. We’re fired up and excited and scared for their children, by the way. They’re afraid for their children. They’re with us, and they’re going to vote, we think, 35,000 votes out of the Jewish Democrat — these are normally solid Democratic votes."
"That’s changing the dynamic," Rogers added.
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Rep. John James, R-Mich., the state’s Republican candidate for governor, also appeared with Hannity, presenting his pitch to attendees on what he would do differently if elected.
Alongside promises to reshape education, James promised to create more scrutiny around government programs and expenses.
"Michigan is spending 50% more right now under Gretchen Whitmer than we spent under Rick Snyder’s administration, the last Republican, and $20 billion more per year than at the height of the pandemic."
"Michigan does not have a taxation problem. Michigan has a spending problem," James added.
Snyder left office in 2019.
James also raised concerns about potential fraud in Michigan, drawing comparisons to Minnesota's sprawling taxpayer-funded fraud investigations.
"If a 19-year-old journalist named Nick Shirley can find $9 billion of fraud in Minnesota, a state with 50% of our population and 60% of our budget, what do you think he can find here?" James said, referring to a videographer who had become famous for investigating Somali fraud rings.
Shirley drew national attention to suspected fraud involving Minnesota childcare providers, although he did not uncover $9 billion in fraud. That figure came from former federal prosecutor Joe Thompson, who estimated last year that fraud across 14 high-risk Medicaid programs could total $9 billion or more. Minnesota officials have disputed the estimate. Federal and state investigators in Minnesota have uncovered fraud involving taxpayer-funded childcare, food assistance and healthcare programs, including schemes in which defendants allegedly billed the government for services they never provided.
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At the close of Hannity’s town hall, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., the House GOP conference chair, accused Democrats of hiding their true character.
"I don’t even call them Democrats anymore; it’s the Communist Party," McClain said.
"They want to pack the Supreme Court, they want to abolish the police, they want to let people out of prisons."
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With primaries in the rearview mirror, Michigan heads to the polls alongside the rest of the country on Nov. 3.
Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers took aim at Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed during a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday, warning voters that his rival's policies would hurt the state.
Rogers accused El-Sayed of having a "pattern of deception" and called him a "manufactured candidate," claiming the Democrat has misrepresented his political positions.
"He is the most extreme candidate. He has called for defunding the police. He has called for letting criminals out of prison," Rogers said.
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"He has called for the Green New Deal, which for Michigan is a killer."
Rogers also touted his campaign's ground operation, saying volunteers are approaching 6 million doors knocked across Michigan.
"That's the energy, and what we're getting off of those doors is, 'Yes, we're voting,' 'No, we're not going to be a DSA state,' 'No, we're not going to let this happen on our watch.'"
The Republican also said his campaign is seeing support from voters who traditionally back Democrats.
Rogers later took questions from voters, including a Jewish woman who said she sometimes feels afraid to show her Jewish identity in public.
Rogers said he had heard similar stories from Jewish students at the University of Michigan who said they concealed religious symbols because they were being harassed.
Rogers also pointed to housing, education and skilled trades, saying he wants to make it easier for young adults to buy homes and bring more defense industry work to the state.
'THE VIEW' CO-HOSTS DEFEND EL-SAYED COMPARING HIMSELF TO JFK OVER MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD SCRUTINY
He also called for putting shop classes back in Michigan high schools, arguing that expanding skilled-trade education would give students more paths to well-paying careers.
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Rogers closed by again targeting El-Sayed's policies, arguing Michigan "cannot afford" them.
"We certainly can't risk his ideology," he said.
El-Sayed's campaign could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.
Michigan Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed questioned why anyone would want to live in Flint, Michigan, during a 2016 appearance before a largely white Boston University audience, according to a report.
The post Abdul El-Sayed Trashed Flint, Michigan, Residents in 2016 Clip appeared first on Breitbart.
Thomas Teepell, who worked for Republican senator, demanded El-Sayed disavow Muslim Brotherhood
A man who heckledthe Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed and demanded he disavow the Muslim Brotherhood at a Michigan town hall is a former aide to the Republican senator Josh Hawley, according to congressional staff records.
At the event on Saturday, an attender who gave his name only as “Tommy” shouted from the crowd, asking whether El-Sayed would disavow the movement. El-Sayed answered: “Sure, yeah, absolutely,” then turned the question around, asking whether the man assumed he wouldn’t.
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© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images
Jan Crawford had praised man who asked Democratic candidate whether he would disavow Muslim Brotherhood
CBS’s chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford has apologized for and deleted a social media post praising a man who questioned Democratic Michigan US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood during a town hall on Saturday.
On Sunday, Crawford, who initially joined CBS in 2009, wrote on X: “Earlier, I tweeted a video from an Abdul El-Sayed town hall. I deleted that tweet because it was a violation of CBS News standards. I apologize.”
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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
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