# Mike Rogers Asks CNN's Dana Bash Why the Press Is 'So Eager' to Protect Abdul El-Sayed

The Michigan Republican Senate candidate sparred with Bash on 'State of the Union' over Trump's 'jihadist' label and a viral clip of El-Sayed on the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed's campaign calls the attacks racist and untrue.

- Section: [Culture](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/culture/)
- Published: 2026-10-19
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/mike-rogers-presses-dana-bash-el-sayed-cnn/

A Sunday-morning interview on CNN turned into an argument about how the press covers Michigan's Senate race.

Fox News Digital reports that Republican Mike Rogers appeared on "State of the Union" with host Dana Bash, who repeatedly pressed him to respond to President Trump calling his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, a "jihadist." Rogers said he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist himself. He argued the concern is ideology and El-Sayed's family's alleged past support for the Muslim Brotherhood. "He has a long history of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood," Rogers said, adding that he believes the group "diminishes women's role in society."

Rogers also said El-Sayed "called for the purging of the press" and for "purging of police," and told Bash that if he were the press, "I would start looking at this." We have not seen the underlying remarks, and Fox's report does not quote them.

The clip. The two also disagreed over a viral video of El-Sayed being asked whether he disavows the Muslim Brotherhood. Bash said he answered, "Sure, yes." Rogers said that is not true. Bash said she wanted "to be factual." Rogers said: "I don't know why the press is so eager for him to protect this guy." We have not checked the clip and cannot say who is right.

Where the story comes from. Fox says scrutiny of El-Sayed grew after unearthed social media posts from his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, implied their mother was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed's campaign denies it. In a statement to Fox it said Rogers' accusations are "racist and untrue," that independent fact checkers have "repeatedly debunked" his claims, and that Rogers wants to distract from "Trump's agenda that is terrorizing Michigan families at the pump and at the grocery store."

The press angle. Fox says a review of Grabien transcripts found that several legacy news organizations were slow to report the initial allegations, and that coverage often only carried El-Sayed's denial. Fox said it contacted CNN and the Rogers campaign for comment. This is Fox's own review and we have not repeated it.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/media/mike-rogers-presses-cnn-dana-bash-why-press-eager-defend-abdul-el-sayed)