Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
On Tuesday afternoon, MS NOW host Alicia Menendez and contributor Jason Johnson marveled over Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el-Sayed's response to a question about whether he has sympathy for the Muslim Brotherhood. Menendez set up the segment:
Abdul el-Sayed is no stranger to confrontation on the campaign trail. As he stumps across Michigan, the Democratic Senate candidate is met almost regularly with critics hoping to catch him off balance for a viral moment. His Saturday town hall in Michigan, just northeast of Flint, was no different until it was because this time el-Sayed turned a heckler into a campaign highlight.
The show played a clip of an audience member, whom Menendez later identified as a former employee of Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), asking el-Sayed if he would "disavow" the Muslim Brotherhood, followed by the Michigan Democrat challenging the questioner on why he does not ask the same question of non-Muslims.
Bringing aboard MS NOW contributors Jason Johnson and Paola Ramos, Menendez noted that the video clip had gone viral with millions of views, and then posed: "A moment like this, I get what Tommy was going for, but I wonder if it actually ends up becoming a gift for el-Sayed?"
Happy with el-Sayed's response, Johnson began by gloating:
It is. And, you know, this reminds me of that meme for the self-defense course from like 10 years ago. It's like, "Call an ambulance, but not for me," right? Like every time they think they catch el-Sayed, he turns it on them. And there's a part of this that's sort of inherent identity wise. And some of this is being an excellent candidate.
He continued:
The identity part is he's a Muslim, Arab American. He's been taking questions like this since he was a teenager. That -- that is part of, unfortunately, living in America and having -- having grown up post-9/11, that you're always being asked about your loyalty or anything else like that.
It's like -- it's like being a black politician in the '90s and you had to, you know, decry that you're not in favor of Farrakhan. Like this sort of stuff is old hat racism that's always existed. The problem is these attempts to try to catch him don't work. The man is very, very smart. He's a Rhodes scholar. He's already defined himself. So they can't define him as this outside extremist.
Menendez then played a video clip of an el-Sayed ad in which the Muslim candidate discusses his religious beliefs, and asked for Ramos's response. She invoked former President Barack Obama as she oozed:
It is him doing what Barack Obama did so well in 2008 and once again in 2012, which is breaking the stereotypes of what the Tommy's of the world think an Arab American is supposed to look like. Abdul is someone that -- and he says it all the time -- that he believes that, at the end of the day, that people are good. And this is something that he says all the time, that at the end of the day, his voters will be able to see past the anti-immigrant rhetoric and see past the xenophobia and Islamophobia. And he says that all the time that people inherently have compassion.
It was not mentioned that the rationale for why el-Sayed is being asked about the Muslim Brotherhood is because he has close family members with a history of supporting the group, including his mother and sister, plus his sister-in-law was on a terrorism watch list during the Barack Obama administration.
Transcript follows:
MS NOW's
On the Line
October 20, 2026
1:43 p.m. Eastern
ALICIA MENENDEZ: Abdul el-Sayed is no stranger to confrontation on the campaign trail. As he stumps across Michigan, the Democratic Senate candidate is met almost regularly with critics hoping to catch him off balance for a viral moment. His Saturday town hall in Michigan, just northeast of Flint, was no different until it was because this time el-Sayed turned a heckler into a campaign highlight.
MALE AUDIENCE MEMBER: I have one simple question: Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?
ABDUL EL-SAYED: Sure, yeah, absolutely. But I want -- I want to ask to the question that you're asking: Why are you asking the question?
MAN: Well, because they're a terrorist group.
EL-SAYED: Okay. No, no, but what are you implying? Do you assume that I wouldn't? (editing jump) You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties, right? You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution. (editing jump) I'm not running to be a Muslim Senator. I'm running for the U.S. Senate and happen to be Muslim.
MENENDEZ: The original video of el-Sayed's exchange with Tommy, who has since been identified as a former staffer for Republican Senator Josh Hawley, now has nearly 15 million views on Twitter alone and counting. Jason Johnson and Paola Ramos are back with us. Jason, you know, when you were digging into the polling in Michigan a little bit earlier in the cycle, like the anti-Muslim sentiment was one of the obstacles that el-Sayed had to overcome as part of the reason there was a difference between his numbers. And Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor in the state. A moment like this, I -- I get what Tommy was going for, but I wonder if it actually ends up becoming a gift for el-Sayed?
JASON JOHNSON, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: It is. And, you know, this reminds me of that -- that -- that meme for the self-defense course from like 10 years ago. It's like, "Call an ambulance, but not for me," right? Like every time they think they catch el-Sayed, he turns it on them. And there's -- there's a part of this that's sort of inherent identity wise. And some of this is being an excellent candidate. The identity part is he's a Muslim, Arab American. He's been taking questions like this since he was a teenager. That -- that is part of, unfortunately, living in America and having -- having grown up post-9/11, that you're always being asked about your loyalty or anything else like that.
It's like -- it's like being a black politician in the '90s and you had to, you know, decry that you're not in favor of Farrakhan. Like this sort of stuff is old hat racism that's always existed. The problem is these attempts to try to catch him don't work. The man is very, very smart. He's a Rhodes scholar. He's already defined himself. So they can't define him as this outside extremist.
But, lastly, this, at the end of the day, when you're asking somebody a question about foreign policy, you're asking somebody a question about terrorism. That's not resonating with me. If I'm in northern Michigan, if I'm in the suburbs and I'm concerned about gas, that's not resonating with me if I'm concerned about health care. So this is another example of Republicans living in their own bubble and dealing with a candidate who is smarter than they think, and literally giving him opportunities to show why he's the best qualified job for -- the best qualified guy for the job, instead of somebody who they can turn into an internet meme.
MENENDEZ: Well, and to contend with the bias instead of running away from it because they dropped a new ad that focuses on el-Sayed's faith. Here's here's just a piece of it. (shows clip of ad in which Abdul el-Sayed discusses his religious faith) Who's that for?
PAOLA RAMOS, MS NOW CONTRIBUTOR: It's for everyone but Tommy. It is him doing what Barack Obama did so well in 2008 and once again in 2012, which is breaking the stereotypes of what the Tommy's of the world think an Arab American is supposed to look like. Abdul is someone that -- and he says it all the time -- that he believes that, at the end of the day, that people are good. And this is something that he says all the time, that at the end of the day, his voters will be able to see past the anti-immigrant rhetoric and see past the xenophobia and Islamophobia. And he says that all the time that people inherently have compassion.
And so this is him reminding people that if you're able to see that, you can somehow picture yourself next to him, a man of faith, just like any other American. And you started the show talking about Paris, right? Talking about the way in which Republicans are obsessed with the "Paris is burning" image. This is him sort of pushing back against what is, to me, the new migrant caravan tactic, right? It is two weeks before the election instead of the migrants, it's no, no, no, we're about to become Paris because those Muslims will be taking over the United States.
So this is Abdul essentially saying like, "Don't be scared of what they're telling you -- no, America can look different." And I think, to Jason's point, the cultural grievances typically work really well, I think. So I think Trump runs on this and it works well. But at the end of the day, if you're a blue collar worker in Ohio or in Michigan, you may be scared. Maybe if you see those images about Paris, but you are more scared about those data centers that are being built around you, and you're so scared about, you know, paying for your groceries and gas. And I think at the end that will supersede all of this.
MENENDEZ: This idea of people being fundamentally good. I think Hobbes and Locke would be tickled by the fact that they are still foundational to our politics. Jason Johnson, Paola Ramos, thank you so much.
. steve malzberg
. steve malzberg
