Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sparred with Fox News host Jesse Watters during a combative, wide-ranging interview Monday that featured frequent cross talk and disputes over gas prices, religion and culture-war issues.
El-Sayed, a progressive who is Muslim, appeared for roughly 30 minutes on “Jesse Watters Primetime.” Watters played clips of the candidate’s previous remarks and challenged him on several subjects, at times abruptly shifting the conversation.
The pair first battled over soaring gas prices and the Iran war. El-Sayed accused Watters of not appearing upset about higher prices and took a swipe at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling him the “sixth host” of Fox News’ “The Five.”
El-Sayed also said Hegseth wanted to increase the military budget to $1.5 trillion.
“What, so we can fight a war we don’t know how to get out of, to raise our gas prices to $5 a gallon?” El-Sayed asked.
The two talked over one another while discussing the $7 trillion federal budget. El-Sayed cited President Donald Trump’s earlier statements about the conflict ending soon after it began in February.
“We’re now in September almost, and we’re still fighting the special military operation,” El-Sayed said. “I mean, it’s not working for us.”
“We’re not really fighting it, it’s a blockade,” Watters responded.
Watters later pressed El-Sayed about past remarks concerning Sharia law. El-Sayed compared it to canon law, which he described as Christian law, and argued that Americans should be free to practice their religion.
“Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else,” El-Sayed said.
Watters countered that Sharia law in Michigan was “kinda scary” and claimed voters would oppose it. El-Sayed insisted no one was pushing it and said Michigan residents were more concerned about affording gasoline.
The interview then shifted to El-Sayed’s past criticism of the NFL and his support for activist and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. El-Sayed called Kaepernick a “pretty damn good quarterback” who deserved more years in the league, before pointing to the high cost of NFL tickets.
Watters also questioned the candidate about gender-affirming care for children. El-Sayed, a physician, said such decisions should remain between parents, doctors and patients rather than the federal government.
After Watters raised surgery involving children, El-Sayed asked whether the host was circumcised and compared circumcision to surgery on a child. Watters objected, saying circumcision was different from castration.
The pair also clashed over transgender athletes. El-Sayed dismissed the topic as something most Americans were not discussing, while Watters said it had become a major issue.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary earlier this month. He will face Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November.
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