Abdul El-Sayed Pushes Back on Smear Tactics in Fox News Interview Over Muslim Brotherhood Claims
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During a street interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed firmly denied any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood and said his loyalty is to the U.S. Constitution, as he rejected a line of questioning that he said was meant to insinuate “dual loyalty.”
Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed confronted Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Friday when Baier asked about alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a claim pushed by his Republican opponent Mike Rogers’ campaign in a familiar attempt to stoke suspicion around a Muslim candidate. El-Sayed cut off the question, saying the line of inquiry was clearly designed to suggest “dual loyalty,” and made plain that his allegiance is to the Constitution of the United States.
"My loyalty will be to the Constitution of the United States," El-Sayed said.
Baier pointed to a 2012 open letter El-Sayed signed concerning Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi, a figure associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, but El-Sayed repeated that he has never been a member of the organization and will not join it. He also said it was “sad” that his faith was being questioned and that such insinuations fell below the standards of the president.
The exchange took place amid continuing campaign attacks that suggest El-Sayed, who is Muslim, holds “dual loyalties” because of his background. No evidence has been found to support any connection between El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood, and the allegations originated from social-media posts by his estranged half-sister.
El-Sayed, who won a contested Democratic primary for the Michigan Senate seat currently held by retiring Senator Gary Peters, leads some polls by a narrow margin ahead of the November election.