Screengrab of Rob Finnerty in a blue suit and blue tie with a grophic of El-Sayed with a communist hammer and sickle and a Muslim Star and crescent

Screengrab from the August 4, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Finnerty

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Right-wing media ramp up Islamophobic campaign against Abdul El-Sayed

Leading up to and following El-Sayed’s primary victory, right-wing media have labelled the American-born physician a “foreigner,” a “jihadist,” and an “Islamo-Marxist”

Written by Jack Wheatley & Zachary Pleat

Research contributions from Ben Van Bloem

Published

Right-wing media launched a tirade of Islamophobic attacks against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed both leading up to and following his win in the August 4 Democratic primary. 

Right-wing media figures have latched onto El-Sayed’s faith and ethnicity. Trump ally and self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer has called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and an “open supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson called El-Sayed a “parasite” and a “rat,” while conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has stated El-Sayed is a “radical advocate for Muslims, including terrorists.” Conservative media figures have also falsely labelled El-Sayed, who was born in the United States, a “foreigner.” 

On August 5, The Associated Press called the primary race for El-Sayed. His opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, released a statement conceding the election and throwing her support behind El-Sayed.

    • Right-wing podcaster and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said that El-Sayed “is an unholy alliance — Islamofascist and a communist at the same time.” Bongino’s commentary devolved into a rant about Hamas and decapitation. [Rumble, The Dan Bongino Show, 8/5/26]
    • On Fox News, Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters claimed: “To me, Mike Rogers is a guy that would be the first responder going to help the victims of 9/11 and El-Sayed is the guy that would have been friends of the guys flying the plane.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 8/6/26] 
    • Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson ranted against El-Sayed for being Muslim and denouncing America’s history of slavery: “You dirty bastard. … You absolute rat. You parasite.” Interviewing Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), Johnson also mocked El-Sayed’s name and said: “Nobody by that name fought for the U.S. in the Revolutionary or Civil Wars, or World War I or II for America, by the way. You just got here, bro.” He added: “The Third World entitlement, it is … insulting. It truly is. It is something truly alien. Truly alien to the Protestant ethos that built this nation.” [YouTube, The Benny Show, 8/5/26, 8/5/26]
    • Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro called El-Sayed a “radical Muslim” and a “radical advocate for Muslims, including terrorists.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 8/4/26]
    • Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt claimed El-Sayed is “an anti-Western … Muslim Egyptian candidate” who has a name voters “can't spell” and “might try to impose Sharia law.” He added: “That’s what Democrat voters now want. Extra points if they can’t guess what country you’re from, too.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 8/4/26]
    • Gateway Pundit published the headline “Race Called: Islamo-Marxist Abdul El-Sayed Beats So-Called Moderate Haley Stevens in Michigan Senate Race.” The article called El-Sayed “a very dangerous politician” who “does not shy away from sympathizing with terrorists.” [Gateway Pundit, 8/4/26]
    • Rob Finnerty of Newsmax attacked El-Sayed over his Arab name and falsely claimed the U.S.-born physician is foreign-born. After playing a clip of El-Sayed pronouncing his full name, Finnerty added: “He is a symbol of what the left has done to this country, an immigrant from another Muslim country who could become a senator.” Finnerty also falsely claimed El-Sayed “is from Egypt.” (The next night, Finnerty corrected himself, admitting, “Abdul was born in Michigan, he is not an immigrant.”) The Newsmax host also attacked El-Sayed for using the phrase “inshallah,” saying: “The official language in the United States of America is English — it’s not Arabic.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 8/4/26, 8/5/26]
    • Laura Loomer attacked El-Sayed during the primary, calling him a “jihadist” and an “open supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Loomer: “This is a guy who doesn’t just practice Islam, but he also has explicit support for terrorist organizations,” calling him a “Hamas sympathizer.” She also said: “Unfortunately, Abdul El-Sayed, he’s probably going to end up being the Democrat nominee in the general election because there’s so many Muslims now in Michigan. Demographics are your destiny.” [Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 3/31/26, 3/31/26]
    • On his radio show, Rudy Giuliani compared El-Sayed to an “Arab prince” who “wants to destroy your country.” He claimed: “We may end up having a majority taking the oath of office on the Quran and the whole country will change.” [Rumble, America’s Mayor Live, 7/27/26]
    • Townhall’s Derek Hunter called El-Sayed “a terrorist sympathizing anti-Semite.” Hunter also claimed El-Sayed “has an affinity for” Hamas and said he “would’ve made a great Nazi,” adding: “Most people who donate to Democrats have no idea what they’re supporting or why – they either just hate Jews, America, capitalism, individual responsibility, or some other basic of American greatness. … Democrats are obedient drones, and Michigan has a lot of anti-Semitic terrorist sympathizers.” [Townhall, 7/6/26]
    • The Heritage Foundation’s The Daily Signal claimed El-Sayed “appears to be sympathetic toward Islamic radicals.” [The Daily Signal, 4/13/26]
    • On Fox News’ Outnumbered, contributor Kaylee McGhee White falsely called El-Sayed a “foreigner” because “his parents were born in Egypt.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 7/16/26]
    • White also wrote for The Daily Wire that “El-Sayed is the inevitable political result of Michigan’s multi-decade experiment with mass Muslim immigration.” In a piece titled “The Islamist-Marxist Takeover Of Middle America,” she wrote that “El-Sayed hasn’t created a new coalition — he has inherited one built over decades through immigration, demographic change, and the rise of identity-based politics.” [The Daily Wire, 7/21/26]