Mike Rogers Used His Last Debate to Smear Abdul El-Sayed

Michigan’s US Senate nominees, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, faced off Wednesday night in their final debate of a toss-up race less than two weeks before the midterms. They clashed over rising costs, the war in Iran, and mass violence by ICE under Donald Trump.

El-Sayed tied Rogers to the Trump administration’s war in Iran and its significant role in raising costs for Americans, alleging that he has been promoting it since before he became a member of Congress in 2001. 

“The consequences of this war are that you are paying nearly $5 [per gallon] in gas. You’re paying more in groceries because of the price of diesel,” El-Sayed said. “He has cheered this war all along because he stands hip-to-hip with Donald Trump.”

“If you don’t believe me, I want you to pay attention on Sunday when Donald Trump comes here at the invitation of Mike Rogers to remind you that, in fact, Donald Trump is on the ballot through Mike Rogers,” the Democratic candidate continued. According to an August report by the New York Times, Trump convinced Rogers to run for Senate and later endorsed him. 

While Rogers expressed support for the Trump administration on Wednesday night—including ICE enforcement, which he described as having a positive impact in reducing crime and should “continue”—he also distanced himself from some policies, including the president’s tariffs on Canada. 

“Maybe these Canadian tariffs were not well thought through,” Rogers said, referring to the close relationship between the two countries’ automobile manufacturing industries. When El-Sayed continued to bring up Trump, who is increasingly receiving the blame for Americans’ struggles, throughout the night, Rogers said, “The bingo game ought to be how many times can [El-Sayed] put the word ‘Trump’ in any answer that he has given in the last, whatever, 30 minutes.”

But Rogers was vicious—and bigoted—in his attacks on El-Sayed. In a rebuttal to El-Sayed’s argument that he is “bought off by the same weapons manufacturers” as those profiting off the war in Iran, Rogers said El-Sayed is “bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood” and has campaign donors “from Hamas that support Hezbollah.”

“If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know, are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas,” Rogers continued. “You can grin, and you can smile, and you can talk real pretty, but I’m going to tell you what—that is a risk to our national security.” 

The Republican candidate has made repeated claims of El-Sayed’s supposed ties to terrorism for weeks, referring to years-old social media posts about family members from older generations.

To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you,” El-Sayed said to Rogers later on. “I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray.”

Rogers’ remarks Wednesday night come amid a long list of opponents making unsubstantiated claims that El-Sayed has ties to terrorism.