Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed has declined to denounce the Muslim Brotherhood, prompting Sen. Ted Cruz to warn that "the national security threat if El Sayed were elected is massive" and drawing a wave of criticism from conservative outlets and commentators who say the candidate's non-denunciation is disqualifying.
The Washington Examiner's editorial page published an op-ed by John B. Roberts II, a former Reagan White House official, arguing that contrary to claims by NBC News' Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, el Sayed has not denounced the Muslim Brotherhood. Roberts wrote that Welker "kept insisting on Sunday that Abdul el Sayed, Michigan's Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, had denounced the Muslim Brotherhood. I was flabbergasted. How could I have missed such major news?"
Roberts drew a distinction between disavowal and denunciation, writing that "disavowal entails distancing oneself from a group's activities; denunciation entails condemnation of the group itself." He described the candidate's campaign playbook as "to routinely deny any ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood before turning the tables by questioning the motives of anyone who asks," and noted that when el Sayed was asked earlier this month whether he disavowed the group, he responded "Absolutely" before attacking the questioner.
Cruz, the Texas Republican, amplified the charge directly to his followers. "The eyes of the nation are on Michigan," Cruz posted. "The national security threat if El Sayed were elected is massive. The evidence is clear, as his sister told us explicitly: this man has long supported the Muslim Brotherhood terrorists."
The claim at the center of the controversy concerns whether el Sayed supported the Muslim Brotherhood. Reporting elsewhere has described the allegation as originating with conservative activist Laura Loomer and as resting on a misreading of el Sayed's 2012 statements signaling support for Egypt's pro-democracy movement rather than for the Islamist group. The claim is disputed, and the material reviewed does not establish that el Sayed supported the organization.
At a campaign event outside Detroit, Cruz reportedly went further, calling el Sayed a "jihadist leprechaun" as Republicans leaned into the attacks in the campaign's closing days.
The pushback is not confined to the campaign trail. The Washington Examiner also reported from Dearborn that President Trump's increasingly personal attacks on el Sayed are drawing anger in a community that helped him win Michigan two years ago. "Two years ago, we were his best friends. Now, we are terrorists," Panna Sharker, 35, told the Examiner in Dearborn on Wednesday. The Examiner's own analysis asked whether "Trump's attacks on Abdul el Sayed could backfire with the Arab Americans who backed Republicans in 2024."
The scrutiny of el Sayed has extended to his faith and family as the race enters its final stretch. If elected, the Michigan Democrat would become the first Muslim U.S. senator in American history, a milestone that has drawn intense attention to his background and associations.
El Sayed's campaign has denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and has characterized questions about the group as bad-faith attacks.
Next News Network could not independently verify the claim that el Sayed supported the Muslim Brotherhood.
Our Take
The pattern here is familiar and troubling: a Democratic candidate with a documented history of refusing to clearly condemn a designated terrorist organization, and a media establishment that would rather referee the meaning of words than examine the substance. El Sayed said "absolutely" when asked whether he disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood, then attacked the person asking. That is not a denunciation. It is a dodge dressed up as one, and Kristen Welker's insistence otherwise says more about the press corps than about the candidate.
Cruz is right that the national security implications are serious. A Senate seat is not a community organizing position, and the Muslim Brotherhood is not a misunderstood civic group. The people of Michigan deserve a senator who will say plainly that the organization is what it is.
But the White House should also take note of the Examiner's reporting from Dearborn. Arab American voters who moved toward Republicans in 2024 did so for reasons of their own, and treating an entire community as suspect because of one candidate's evasions is a political gift to the other side. The case against el Sayed should be made on the facts of his record, not on the ethnicity of his neighbors. Republicans won Michigan once by listening. They should not throw that away now.
