El-Sayed Answers Campaign Attacks on The View
El-Sayed said Michigan voters rejected efforts to make his religion and background central to the Senate race. He won 52.5% of the vote to Rogers’ 45.5%, becoming the Senate’s first Muslim member.
On The View, host Sunny Hostin recounted comments from Republicans including Sen. Ted Cruz, who called El-Sayed a “jihadist leprechaun,” and Vice President JD Vance, who described him as “very, very evil.” El-Sayed joked that he wanted the insult printed on a hat.
He said Republicans could have focused on issues such as gas and grocery prices or access to doctors, but instead turned to personal attacks. El-Sayed described that approach as something politicians felt compelled to escalate once they began using it.
He also responded to President Donald Trump’s claim at an October Michigan rally that El-Sayed would need to pass through a metal detector to enter the Senate. El-Sayed said he would take the test and again dared Trump to undergo a lie detector test. Trump had also invoked the September 11 attacks while urging voters to reject El-Sayed.
Republican Attacks on El-Sayed Failed at the Ballot Box
Michigan voters chose Abdul El-Sayed for the Senate despite a campaign in which prominent Republicans attacked his Muslim faith and background. His victory, by 52.5% to 45.5% over Mike Rogers, made him the first Muslim elected to the chamber.
On The View, El-Sayed argued that the attacks exposed what Republicans lacked: a message on everyday concerns such as gas, groceries and access to doctors. He said voters had been asked to decide whether America could include someone like him, and he credited their judgment.
Host Sunny Hostin cited Sen. Ted Cruz’s “jihadist leprechaun” insult and Vice President JD Vance’s description of El-Sayed as “very, very evil.” El-Sayed joked about putting Cruz’s words on a hat. President Donald Trump had also called him a jihadist at an October rally, invoked September 11 and suggested El-Sayed would need a metal detector to enter the Senate.
El-Sayed said he would take that test and again challenged Trump to take a lie detector test. The campaign’s focus on religious attacks, rather than the issues El-Sayed named, underscores the stakes of rhetoric that treats a candidate’s faith as a political weapon.
El-Sayed Turns Senate Victory Into a Rebuke of Republicans
Newly elected Sen. Abdul El-Sayed appeared on The View for praise from its hosts and to revisit the Republican attacks that marked the closing stretch of his Michigan campaign. He defeated Mike Rogers, 52.5% to 45.5%, becoming the first Muslim elected to the Senate.
El-Sayed said Republicans had little to say about gas, groceries or access to doctors, and instead made his religion a target. Host Sunny Hostin read out insults from Sen. Ted Cruz and Vice President JD Vance; El-Sayed joked that he wanted Cruz’s “jihadist leprechaun” label on a hat.
President Donald Trump had called El-Sayed a jihadist at an October Michigan rally, invoked September 11 and said he would need a metal detector to enter the Senate. El-Sayed said he would take the test and again urged Trump to undergo a lie detector test.
The appearance highlighted how quickly a victory interview became a platform for attacking Republicans. El-Sayed’s account centered on the personal rhetoric he faced, while his own answer was that voters should have heard more about practical concerns such as prices and health care.
Reported by Variety, Daily Mail US.
