Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is dealing with questions regarding his prior openness towards engaging with the Muslim Brotherhood. This comes as he continues his attacks on his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, for alleged connections to the movement ahead of the November 3 election in Michigan.
During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker questioned Rogers about President Donald Trump’s criticisms of El-Sayed. She inquired about the evidence supporting these allegations and highlighted Rogers’ own 2012 comments suggesting talks with certain members of the Muslim Brotherhood might be beneficial.
Rogers avoided directly responding to several inquiries from Welker. He redirected the focus to claims about El-Sayed’s political associations, arguing the Muslim Brotherhood poses a threat to American interests. This follows increasing attacks on El-Sayed concerning the organization, with Trump accusing the Democratic candidate of supporting the group. El-Sayed has denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and rejected any negative implications of his background or religious beliefs.
The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement established in Egypt in 1928, is labeled as a terrorist organization by some governments. In January 2026, the U.S. designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. It also categorized the Lebanese branch as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. In March 2026, the same designations were applied to the Sudanese branch.
Newsweek reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comments via email on a recent Sunday.
Rogers Pressed Over Trump’s Allegations
Welker initiated the discussion by mentioning Trump’s recent harsh comments about El-Sayed. Trump called El-Sayed a “Muslim Brotherhood jihadist” and claimed he harbored hatred for Jews, blacks, and Americans. This is part of an ongoing pattern of criticism from Trump towards El-Sayed.
Welker stated, “As you know, there’s no evidence to support any of those claims,” before asking Rogers if he agreed with the president’s statements. Rogers didn’t offer a direct answer but alleged that El-Sayed received financial backing from groups associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
“There’s a reason he is getting money from groups that support the Muslim Brotherhood, from groups that support Hamas and Hezbollah,” Rogers asserted.
Welker countered by reminding Rogers that El-Sayed denied links to the Muslim Brotherhood and had publicly condemned the organization. She also referred to a 2012 letter signed by El-Sayed supporting Egyptian protesters against former leader Hosni Mubarak, arguing that supporting these protesters shouldn’t be conflated with supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
The exchange switched focus to Rogers’ own comments from 2012 about engaging with some group members. Welker pointed to this contradiction. Rogers opined in 2012: “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.” She pressed if Rogers would acknowledge his past willingness to engage with moderate members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Rogers did not directly address the question, accusing Welker of distorting information for her own purposes. Welker clarified that she did not hold any position. Rogers then explained his past remarks, citing intelligence cooperation challenges between Israel and Egypt, which the Muslim Brotherhood sought to disrupt.
“Relationships where Israel and Egypt cooperated in intelligence services were threatened by the Muslim Brotherhood, risking increased violence in the region,” Rogers explained. “As chairman of the intelligence committee, I pointed out the need to maintain those ties.”
Rogers went on to accuse El-Sayed of misrepresenting family connections and again implied Welker was defending the Democratic contender.
Rogers Challenged Over Trump’s Claims Against El Sayed
Welker revisited Trump’s remarks, pointing out Trump labeled El-Sayed a violent jihadist without evidence. She repeated that El-Sayed both denounced the Muslim Brotherhood and was asked directly if he’d denounced it.
She then asked Rogers if he agreed with Trump’s description of El-Sayed as a violent terrorist. Rogers claimed he never called El-Sayed a terrorist but shifted focus to criticizing his opponent’s political ties. “This election is about me versus Abdul. I mean he’s a Democrat socialist of America-aligned candidate with pretty radical support groups opposing America,” Rogers said.
He noted that some Jewish Democrats, African Americans, and other voters told him they couldn’t back El-Sayed because “this guy is too extreme for them.” Rogers framed the election as a choice between his national security credentials and El-Sayed’s radical political associations.
The issue transcends the candidates, with Trump continuing to target El-Sayed. Supporters of El-Sayed call the attacks an attempt to cast his Muslim faith and origins as suspect.
El-Sayed Responds With Campaign Ad
El-Sayed countered the attacks with humor, releasing a campaign ad mocking Rogers’ ties with Trump. The ad portrays Rogers as obsequious in his efforts to align with the president.
Contact Newsweek editors for more information: Matthew Robinson and Trevor Davies.