Former Obama staffers who host the "Pod Save America" podcast debated Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s handling of a recent question about his family’s alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

While Tommy Vietor and his co-hosts sympathized with El-Sayed over questions they considered "bigoted," Jon Favreau warned that El-Sayed must keep in mind that he is speaking not just to the questioner, but also to voters who may be concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood itself.

Concerns about alleged ties between El-Sayed's family and the Muslim Brotherhood emerged after the Washington Free Beacon reported on social media posts in which El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described her family's history with the organization, including her and El-Sayed's mother.

At an October 17 town hall, El-Sayed bristled when an audience member asked whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. After disavowing the organization, El-Sayed turned the scrutiny back on the audience member, saying, "You’re asking the question because, implicitly, you assume that I’ll have dual loyalties, right? You assume that I wouldn’t disavow, or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution, correct? Tommy, is that what you imply?"

'THE VIEW' CO-HOSTS DEFEND EL-SAYED COMPARING HIMSELF TO JFK OVER MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD SCRUTINY

Favreau criticized Republican attempts to tie El-Sayed to the organization through his family connections, but argued that the GOP was using the issue to sway voters.

"It's somewhat smarter for them to throw out the Muslim Brotherhood thing because it's like, ‘This is a new piece of information that people might have no idea what the Muslim Brotherhood is,’" he said, appearing to frame the tactical mindset of Republican operatives. "'Sounds pretty scary, doesn't it? Terrorist organization. Maybe you don't know the history of the Muslim Brotherhood. Maybe it's got foreign ties to Egypt and he, you know, his family, his family's from Egypt.'"

"So, to respond to that, as bulls--- as it is, and of course, he like knocked it down. But you've got to forget about the a--hole asking you the question," Favreau continued. "You've got to give the answer as if someone who might have a question about a Muslim Brotherhood tie is not necessarily like totally Islamophobic and like that kid or like Trump or like Mike Rogers, but like might have a question, and you don't want — and you don't want to condescend to that person or be like, ‘No, you're an a--hole for asking.’ Right?"

"And I'm not saying he did," he added. "I thought it was a good — I thought he could have used like 20% less condescension in the answer."

Vietor agreed that El-Sayed’s tone could have been better, and replied, "There’s a slightly more empathetic version of that."

Fellow co-host Jon Lovett said, "Stop fighting with that guy and speak to the people that are not."

ABDUL EL-SAYED INVOKES JFK TO DISMISS 'CRAZY' QUESTIONS OVER FAMILY'S ALLEGED TIES TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

Favreau recalled his experience working for former President Barack Obama and said that, regardless of whether a characterization of a candidate's statements is fair, candidates and public officials have to be careful about rhetoric and tone when speaking to voters.

"You can say this from the cheap seats, because I am sure when you are Abdul, and you're going around doing this and there are people who are f---ing just calling into question your loyalty to your country that you love, it must f---ing infuriate you," Favreau said. "And it's not fair that what he has to do in response is to eat s--- and just give a nice answer with a smile." 

"But like we were there when Barack Obama had to do it, and you know Zohran Mamdani had to do it and like, unfortunately, there's a double standard, and it's unfair, but you still have to do it to win an election anyway and it f---ing sucks," he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed's campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

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Jesse Arm, vice president of external affairs at the Manhattan Institute and a former pollster who has followed the Michigan Senate race, suggested El-Sayed's confrontational demeanor may be a key reason he is not doing as well against his Republican opponent as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is doing in her race in Michigan.

"The ‘Pod Save America’ guys are partisan hacks who bend over backward to excuse El-Sayed’s radicalism and dismiss legitimate scrutiny as bigotry. But even they recognize that his nastiness and condescension are deeply off-putting," Arm told Fox News Digital. 

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"And if even his most sympathetic defenders can see it, imagine how he comes across to ordinary Michigan voters," he added. "This is a big part of the reason he’s poised to dramatically underperform the state’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee."

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.

Casting doubt on El-Sayed's grip on Black voters in Michigan

EL-SAYED GRILLED ON PIKER, ISRAEL AND SOCIALIST TIES AFTER MIKE ROGERS SKIPS SENATE DEBATE

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.

Unique opportunity for Republicans amid alienated Jewish voters

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.

Gubernatorial hopeful promises to target fraud, trim fat on Democrat-led spending

MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL WILL HAUNT FLANAGAN IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE RACE, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN WARNS

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.

Top House Republican accuses Democrats of concealing 'Communist' agenda

OBAMA'S STAR POWER GETS A REALITY CHECK FROM BLACK VOTERS IN CRUCIAL SENATE RACE: 'IT'S A TURNOFF'

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.