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Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to answer questions from NBC News, a development that appeared to catch the Democrat completely off guard as he was expecting powderpuff questions with no followup.
The subject was about family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and El-Sayed responded with the political equivalent of demanding to speak to the manager.
During an interview with NBC News, El-Sayed dismissed questions about his family’s alleged connections to the Islamist organization as “not serious,” attempting to redirect attention toward his Michigan résumé rather than explain social media posts in which his maternal half-sister claimed their family had “long” been involved with the group.
The awkward exchange followed El-Sayed’s earlier denial of any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, a position that became considerably more complicated after his sister’s old posts resurfaced.
During an interview with NBC News, El-Sayed dismissed questions about his family’s alleged connections to the Islamist organization as “not serious,” attempting to redirect attention toward his Michigan résumé rather than explain social media posts in which his maternal half-sister claimed their family had “long” been involved with the group.
The awkward exchange followed El-Sayed’s earlier denial of any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, a position that became considerably more complicated after his sister’s old posts resurfaced.
NBC reporter Tom Llamas confronted El-Sayed with several statements posted by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, a University of Chicago professor. In June 2012, Abdelhadi wrote, “My family has long been MB,” referring to the Muslim Brotherhood.
[According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brotherhood's central mission is to Islamize society through religious law, values, and morals. Its ideology seeks a political and social order based on Islamic principles and Sharia law.]
In another post, she recalled, “had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college.”
Then, in July 2013, she added, “I have had family jailed for being a part of it.”
Those statements raised questions that El-Sayed apparently would have preferred remained buried in the internet’s increasingly inconvenient archives.
Rather than address the substance of the posts, El-Sayed launched into a recitation of his personal history and professional accomplishments, as though serving Michigan’s public health system somehow rendered questions about his family automatically illegitimate.
In another post, she recalled, “had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college.”
Then, in July 2013, she added, “I have had family jailed for being a part of it.”
Those statements raised questions that El-Sayed apparently would have preferred remained buried in the internet’s increasingly inconvenient archives.
Rather than address the substance of the posts, El-Sayed launched into a recitation of his personal history and professional accomplishments, as though serving Michigan’s public health system somehow rendered questions about his family automatically illegitimate.
Maybe he has something to hide.
“It’s funny to me. I was born in 1984, down the street in Rochester Hills,” he said. “I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in the city, led the health department in this county. And you want to ask me about what was happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?”
Apparently, the relevant question was no longer what his sister had written about their family, but why anyone would dare ask him about it.
Llamas persisted, prompting El-Sayed to offer a denial while acknowledging that he had never discussed the matter with his mother.
“I’m telling you, like, I have no ties. We have no ties,” he said. “I have never had these conversations with my mother. I wasn’t raised by my mother.”
El-Sayed then accused the reporter of “using hearsay evidence from a tweet.”
The candidate’s defense thus rested on a peculiar combination of categorical denial and an admission that he had never actually discussed the subject with the person at the center of the reported family history.
Llamas was not persuaded. He pointed out that El-Sayed had criticized President Donald Trump over “truthfulness” and suggested that voters were entitled to expect the same standard from the Senate candidate.
“So when people ask you a question, they all do expect the truth,” the reporter said.
El-Sayed appeared offended by the implication.
“Do you think, are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?” El-Sayed responded. “And I’m telling you I was not.”
The exchange offered a glimpse of what happens when a politician accustomed to criticizing his opponents discovers that the press occasionally applies the same inconvenient standards to him. Suddenly, the questions are unserious, the evidence is hearsay, and the person asking for clarification is apparently the real problem.
The controversy is not entirely academic. Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the organization’s Egyptian branch, have been designated as specially designated global terrorist organizations by the United States. Egypt is also the country from which El-Sayed’s parents emigrated.
El-Sayed has previously boasted that he held dual American and Egyptian citizenship, although he now says that claim was based on misinformation.
The social media posts first drew renewed attention after the Washington Free Beacon resurfaced them following El-Sayed’s categorical denial of any links to the Muslim Brotherhood during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
President Donald Trump also weighed in on Wednesday, claiming that El-Sayed himself was a member of the organization.
“Abdul, or as I call him Muhammad El-Sayad, he’s a member of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Trump said. “You can’t have a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Congress, being on one of our security committees.”
The allegation from Trump is separate from the claims attributed to El-Sayed’s half-sister, and the family’s reported history does not, by itself, establish that El-Sayed belongs to the organization.
Nevertheless, a candidate seeking a seat in the United States Senate can reasonably expect questions about statements suggesting possible family connections to a movement with a complicated and consequential history. That is particularly true when the candidate has already made categorical denials about the subject.
El-Sayed is entitled to deny the allegations. He is also entitled to object to the questions. But neither entitlement obliges reporters or voters to pretend that the questions do not exist.
For a party that routinely insists that public figures must answer for their words, actions, associations, and family histories when politically convenient, the sudden discovery that some questions are “not serious” is an interesting development.
Perhaps El-Sayed can explain to voters why the public should accept his assurances without further scrutiny. Dismissing the questions as ridiculous, however, is unlikely to make the questions disappear.
If anything, it makes people wonder why answering them directly seems so difficult.
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“It’s funny to me. I was born in 1984, down the street in Rochester Hills,” he said. “I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in the city, led the health department in this county. And you want to ask me about what was happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?”
Apparently, the relevant question was no longer what his sister had written about their family, but why anyone would dare ask him about it.
Llamas persisted, prompting El-Sayed to offer a denial while acknowledging that he had never discussed the matter with his mother.
“I’m telling you, like, I have no ties. We have no ties,” he said. “I have never had these conversations with my mother. I wasn’t raised by my mother.”
El-Sayed then accused the reporter of “using hearsay evidence from a tweet.”
The candidate’s defense thus rested on a peculiar combination of categorical denial and an admission that he had never actually discussed the subject with the person at the center of the reported family history.
Llamas was not persuaded. He pointed out that El-Sayed had criticized President Donald Trump over “truthfulness” and suggested that voters were entitled to expect the same standard from the Senate candidate.
“So when people ask you a question, they all do expect the truth,” the reporter said.
El-Sayed appeared offended by the implication.
“Do you think, are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?” El-Sayed responded. “And I’m telling you I was not.”
The exchange offered a glimpse of what happens when a politician accustomed to criticizing his opponents discovers that the press occasionally applies the same inconvenient standards to him. Suddenly, the questions are unserious, the evidence is hearsay, and the person asking for clarification is apparently the real problem.
The controversy is not entirely academic. Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the organization’s Egyptian branch, have been designated as specially designated global terrorist organizations by the United States. Egypt is also the country from which El-Sayed’s parents emigrated.
El-Sayed has previously boasted that he held dual American and Egyptian citizenship, although he now says that claim was based on misinformation.
The social media posts first drew renewed attention after the Washington Free Beacon resurfaced them following El-Sayed’s categorical denial of any links to the Muslim Brotherhood during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
President Donald Trump also weighed in on Wednesday, claiming that El-Sayed himself was a member of the organization.
“Abdul, or as I call him Muhammad El-Sayad, he’s a member of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Trump said. “You can’t have a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Congress, being on one of our security committees.”
The allegation from Trump is separate from the claims attributed to El-Sayed’s half-sister, and the family’s reported history does not, by itself, establish that El-Sayed belongs to the organization.
Nevertheless, a candidate seeking a seat in the United States Senate can reasonably expect questions about statements suggesting possible family connections to a movement with a complicated and consequential history. That is particularly true when the candidate has already made categorical denials about the subject.
El-Sayed is entitled to deny the allegations. He is also entitled to object to the questions. But neither entitlement obliges reporters or voters to pretend that the questions do not exist.
For a party that routinely insists that public figures must answer for their words, actions, associations, and family histories when politically convenient, the sudden discovery that some questions are “not serious” is an interesting development.
Perhaps El-Sayed can explain to voters why the public should accept his assurances without further scrutiny. Dismissing the questions as ridiculous, however, is unlikely to make the questions disappear.
If anything, it makes people wonder why answering them directly seems so difficult.
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