El-Sayed's answer on Muslim Brotherhood at Michigan town hall draws split reactions
Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed said "Yeah, absolutely" when a man at a town hall asked him to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. He then asked why he was being asked, and his campaign posted the clip. Supporters praised his answer, while Republicans said he dodged the question.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's answer to a question about the Muslim Brotherhood at a town hall on Saturday has drawn praise and criticism, The Washington Post and Fox News reported.
At a campaign stop in Caro, Michigan, a young man who called himself "Tommy" asked El-Sayed whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, the Post and Fox News reported. "Sure. Yeah, absolutely," El-Sayed replied, according to the Post. He then asked the man why he was asking.
El-Sayed said the man assumed he would have "dual loyalties" because he is Muslim, the Post and Fox News reported. He compared the questions to those John F. Kennedy faced about his Catholic faith. "I am not running to be a Muslim senator. I am running for U.S. Senate and happen to be Muslim," El-Sayed said, the Post reported.
His campaign posted the clip online. The Post reported that his Instagram post had more than 30,000 comments by Sunday afternoon, and that many people praised his answer.
Republicans saw it differently. Republican nominee Mike Rogers said on CNN on Sunday that El-Sayed "didn't disavow it" and gave a "word salad," the Post reported. CNN host Dana Bash pointed out that El-Sayed did say he disavowed the group, the Post reported.
CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford deleted an X post that called El-Sayed's answer a "spectacular self own," Fox News reported. Crawford wrote that the post broke CBS News standards and apologized, Fox News reported.
El-Sayed confirmed to Fox News on Saturday that his sister-in-law was part of a 2016 lawsuit over the federal terrorist watchlist, Fox News reported. "She did nothing wrong and was captured on that and then sued and got off," he said. His campaign has called claims about family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood "racist and untrue," Fox News reported.
El-Sayed would be the first Muslim US senator if elected. He is polling slightly ahead of Rogers, the Post reported. President Donald Trump called El-Sayed "a jihadist" at a rally on Friday, the Post reported.
What we know: El-Sayed said he disavows the Muslim Brotherhood and questioned why he was asked.
What we don't: Whether the exchange will affect the close race.
Where outlets agree The Washington Post and Fox News both report that El-Sayed answered "Sure" and "Yeah, absolutely" when asked at a Saturday town hall to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, and that he said the questioner assumed he had "dual loyalties."
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.