5 minPolitics
Rogers dodges question on whether he is a MAGA Republican in Michigan Senate race
Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers has avoided saying whether he identifies as a MAGA Republican while courting Trump supporters and swing voters in Michigan. His clash with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed over Muslim Brotherhood ties has intensified the race.
Republican Mike Rogers has avoided saying whether he considers himself a "MAGA Republican," a label that would tie him closely to President Donald Trump's movement. Throughout his campaign for the Michigan Senate seat, Rogers has worked to balance appeals to Trump's supporters with the need not to alienate swing voters in a state that is closely contested.
That balancing act was on display in a heated exchange on NBC's "Meet the Press" with moderator Kristen Welker. Rogers accused Welker of defending his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, over allegations about the Muslim Brotherhood. Welker said El-Sayed had already disavowed any ties to the Islamist organization and defended her earlier interview with him, in which he denied any connection to the group.
"No, he has not, he dismissed the question... I don't know why you give this guy a pass," Rogers said as the two interrupted each other. "You are giving him a pass on something he should be accountable for." Rogers said the attacks on him were an effort to twist the issue to defend El-Sayed rather than scrutinize his record.
Welker pressed Rogers on his own 2012 remarks, in which he said the United States would have to "reach out to and talk to" moderate members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Rogers said that as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee at the time, his focus was on preserving intelligence cooperation between Egypt and Israel to prevent further regional violence. "What you're doing now is trying to twist this thing to defend your position for letting him lie to you," he said.
The confrontation also centered on Trump's characterization of El-Sayed as a violent terrorist. Welker said there was no evidence to support that claim and noted that El-Sayed had publicly disavowed the organization. Rogers rejected the suggestion that he had personally described El-Sayed as a terrorist, saying, "I've never called him a terrorist."
Rogers' campaign doubled down on the criticism in a statement to Fox News Digital. Spokesperson Abby Ronson questioned El-Sayed's responses and urged national outlets to press him further. "Abdul is an Oxford-trained debater," Ronson said. "Yet every time he's asked about his support of the Muslim Brotherhood, he deflects, gets angry and dismisses the question. Michiganders deserve an answer on what should be an incredibly easy question to answer."
The allegations build on previously reported connections between El-Sayed, members of his family and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Washington Free Beacon reported that El-Sayed was among 46 Egyptian American community figures who signed a November 2012 letter backing the decisions of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood-backed leader, and urging him to purge Egypt's police and media. The letter was published as Morsi faced criticism for expanding his presidential powers.
Social media posts from El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, have also resurfaced. In a 2012 post, she wrote, "My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively." In another post, she described a conversation with her mother about her mother's Muslim Brotherhood activism while attending college in Egypt during the 1970s.
El-Sayed has said he was raised by his father and stepmother and has accused Rogers of exploiting his Muslim faith for political purposes. When Welker asked him during an Oct. 11 appearance on "Meet the Press" whether he or his family had any connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, he answered, "No." Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Separately, the Republican president has been attacking El-Sayed's faith throughout the campaign, claiming that his past statements and background show sympathy for extremists. For Rogers, the dispute over the Muslim Brotherhood has become a central test of how far he will go in aligning with Trump's rhetoric while keeping his own profile in a competitive Senate contest.
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