Mike Rogers repeatedly attacks El-Sayed over Muslim Brotherhood allegations. Then gets pressed on his own past remarks about engaging the group

Kristen Welker pressed Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers on NBC’s Meet the Press about President Donald Trump’s description of Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed as a “Muslim Brotherhood jihadist” who “hates Jews and blacks and Americans.” Welker stated there is no evidence behind those claims and asked Rogers if he agreed with them.

Rogers did not respond to that point directly. He said, “There’s a reason he is getting money from groups that support the Muslim Brotherhood, Money from groups that support Hamas and Hezbollah.” El-Sayed has denied any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood and has publicly denounced the group, including in an earlier interview with Welker.

Welker also referenced a 2012 letter El-Sayed signed that backed Egyptians protesting former leader Hosni Mubarak. She said that backing the protesters should not be treated as support for the Muslim Brotherhood organization itself. The conversation then moved to Rogers’ own statements from that same period.

Host questions Rogers about his earlier willingness to talk with moderate members

In 2012, Rogers said, “Do I think there are moderate Muslim Brotherhood individuals we are going to have to reach out to and talk to? Yes but we are going to have to watch it carefully.” Welker asked him if he was ready to acknowledge that he had been open to engaging with some moderate members of the group at the time.

Rogers did not answer that right away. He accused Welker of twisting the information to defend her own position. Welker replied that she did not have a position. He later explained the 2012 comments by pointing to intelligence ties between Israel and Egypt.

Rogers said the Muslim Brotherhood had tried to undo those intelligence relationships, which he said would have meant more violence in the region. As chairman of the intelligence committee, he said the goal was to find a way to try not to sever that relationship, which he noted later occurred.

Welker returned to Trump’s comments and noted that the president had called El-Sayed a violent jihadist even though she said there was no evidence for it. She also reminded Rogers that El-Sayed had been asked directly if he denounced the Muslim Brotherhood and had done so. Rogers said he had never called El-Sayed a terrorist.

He framed the race as “me versus Abdul” and described El-Sayed as “a Democrat socialist of America aligned candidate who has these pretty radical support groups that don’t like America.” Rogers added that some Jewish Democrats, African Americans, and other voters have told him they cannot back El-Sayed because the candidate is too extreme for them.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928. Some governments designate the organization or certain branches as terrorist groups, while others do not. 

In January 2026, the U.S. designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists and the Lebanese branch as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to Newsweek. In March 2026, the Sudanese branch received both designations.

El-Sayed has answered the attacks with a campaign ad that uses humor to show Rogers as deferential to Trump and focused on aligning with the president. Other Republicans have also targeted him in ads, including Sen. Tim Scott.