Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed compared himself to former President John F. Kennedy during a Saturday "MS NOW Reports" interview with Ali Velshi, likening questions about his family's alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties to scrutiny Kennedy faced over his Catholic faith.
asserted
Kennedy → compare → faith
El-Sayed invoked Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign while arguing that questions about his family were intended to cast doubt on his allegiance to the United States.
asserted
questions → invoke → States
"I also know that I tread a long history of this: when John F. Kennedy ran for president, he was asked about whether or not his allegiance would be to the Constitution or to the pope and the Vatican…" he began.
asserted
he → know → pope
"The Constitution guarantees me the right as I choose to pray or any of us, to pray as we choose to pray or not to pray at all," he continued.
asserted
he → guarantee → us
"Nobody understands how important that document is like somebody who has their rights constantly threatened and so I will stand for that constitution.
asserted
I → understand → constitution
And it's a crazy thing to assume that somehow I'd have dual loyalties as somebody who's avidly running to protect the right to choose, who's running to protect LGBTQ rights, who's running to protect religious freedom…"
asserted
who → assume → freedom
Ted Goodman, communications director of the Michigan GOP, pushed back on El-Sayed's comparison in a statement to Fox News Digital, arguing that the allegations involving the Democrat's relatives were fundamentally different from the religious scrutiny Kennedy faced.
"Abdul El-Sayed’s comparison of scrutiny over his Muslim Brotherhood ties to the questions JFK faced about the Vatican is a false equivalence," Goodman said.
asserted
Goodman → push → Vatican
"The actual evidence against Abdul El-Sayed is not hearsay based on his faith, but actual facts as reported by numerous reputable news outlets," he continued.
asserted
he → base → outlets
Velshi asked El-Sayed how he responded to questions involving the Muslim Brotherhood, terrorism and radical Islamism.
asserted
he → ask → Brotherhood
El-Sayed suggested the scrutiny was designed to raise doubts about his loyalty.
uncertain
scrutiny → suggest → loyalty
"Look, at the end of the day, the whole reason this question is being asked is to insinuate that somehow I have dual loyalties," he said.
asserted
he → look → loyalties
The controversy followed reporting on social media posts uncovered by the Washington Free Beacon in which El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described her family's history with the Muslim Brotherhood.
asserted
sister → follow → Brotherhood
In one 2012 post, Abdelhadi described a conversation with her and El-Sayed's mother, Fatten Elkomy, about her involvement with the organization during college in Egypt.
asserted
Abdelhadi → describe → Egypt
"Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect."
In another post, Abdelhadi characterized her family's history with the organization.
asserted
Abdelhadi → have → organization
"My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively."
asserted
it → feel → sphere
El-Sayed previously denied that he or his family had ties to the organization during an Oct. 11 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."
asserted
he → deny → Press
Days later, he was pressed by NBC's Tom Llamas about his half-sister's statements and whether he had discussed the allegations with his mother.
asserted
he → press → mother
El-Sayed maintained that he had no personal connections to the group and disputed the significance of his sister's posts.
"I have never had these conversations with my mother.
asserted
I → maintain → mother
I wasn’t raised by my mother..." he said.
asserted
he → raise → mother
Goodman cited El-Sayed's father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, whose involvement with the Islamic Society of North America and CAIR's Michigan chapter was documented by the Washington Free Beacon.
asserted
involvement → cite → Beacon
The outlet also reported that Jukaku contributed $200,000 to a super PAC supporting El-Sayed.
asserted
Jukaku → report → Sayed
The organization was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case.
asserted
organization → name → case
The Treasury Department designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in January for providing material support to Hamas.
asserted
Department → designate → Hamas
The allegations involving El-Sayed's relatives have not established that he personally belonged to the organization.
asserted
he → involve → organization
El-Sayed's campaign previously rejected accusations involving his family in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing Republican opponent Mike Rogers of using the controversy to attack his faith.
asserted
campaign → reject → faith
"Independent fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked Mike’s lies, but their campaign continues to use bad faith attacks on Abdul's faith and family," the campaign said.
asserted
campaign → debunk → faith
Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed and Rogers for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
asserted
Digital → reach → response
The Aporia
