Trump Accuses Democratic Senate Candidate El-Sayed of Muslim Brotherhood Ties

Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed faced intense questioning from NBC anchor Tom Yamas regarding his family's alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The interview, broadcast Wednesday evening, followed El-Sayed's denial of any such connections on "Meet the Press" the previous Sunday. Yamas presented tweets from El-Sayed's half-sister, Iman Abd al-Hadi, a University of Chicago lecturer, suggesting a long-standing family involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood. One tweet from 2012 stated, "My family has long been in the Muslim Brotherhood." Another detailed a conversation with their mother, Faten Al-Qoumi, about her activities with the movement as a student in Egypt in the early 1970s. Abd al-Hadi also wrote in 2013 about family members being imprisoned for their membership and prayed for their well-being.

El-Sayed, who was born and raised in Michigan, questioned why he was being asked about Egypt in the 1970s. When directly asked about his mother, he stated he had never discussed the topic with her and dismissed the tweets as "hearsay." Yamas pressed El-Sayed, noting that the candidate himself had questioned the credibility of the President and that the public expects truth. El-Sayed, appearing flustered, asked if Yamas was insinuating he had lied, which the anchor confirmed he was asking.

Later in the interview, El-Sayed was asked about his refusal during a recent debate to state whether Iran or Israel posed a greater threat to the U.S. He responded by accusing Israel of escalating wars globally, stating, "There is actually more war in the world because of what Israel is pushing us into. We never should have fought Iran." He characterized both countries as threats and argued that an ally pushing Washington into war does not enhance American security. El-Sayed also criticized U.S. spending on armaments for Israel, citing a $2.8 billion payment for 2,000-pound bombs in the previous month and questioning how purchasing bombs for a foreign government contributes to American security.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump amplified his attacks on El-Sayed, telling reporters in Arizona that El-Sayed is "a member of the Muslim Brotherhood" and "was a proud member." Trump asserted that "you can't have a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Congress, sitting on our security committees." This statement shifted the accusation from family ties to El-Sayed's alleged personal membership in the Islamist movement.

The controversy comes less than three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, in a close race against Republican Mike Rogers for the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. The outcome in Michigan could impact which party controls the Senate.