El-Sayed joins Fox News for some light verbal combat and a pitch to Republicans
The appearance Monday night by El-Sayed, a progressive who has sought to dispel worries from moderate Democrats that he is too left-wing, signaled his growing efforts to reach Republican voters.
“You’re filibustering.”
“Pipe down one second.”
“That’s a dodge, Abdul.”
Through tense smiles and laughter, Fox News host Jesse Watters frequently reminded his guest — the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed — that Watters was the one conducting their prime-time interview as the candidate swerved through a minefield of hostile questions about issues ranging from transition surgeries to reparations to Islam to immigration.
The appearance Monday night by El-Sayed, a progressive who has sought to dispel worries from moderate Democrats that he is too left-wing to win battleground Michigan, signaled his growing efforts to reach Republican voters and previewed his messaging strategy for the general election. His hard-fought primary victory this month has set up a race against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, in a contest considered crucial to Senate control.
When Watters sought to pin down El-Sayed, the candidate would often redirect the question to more favorable political terrain. He pivoted from a question on immigration enforcement to high gas and grocery costs, and turned an inquiry on whether he drives an electric car (he drives a plug-in hybrid, he said) into a jab at President Donald Trump’s new trade war with Canada.
In the most eye-popping moment of the exchange, Watters asked if El-Sayed believed it was OK “for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off,” referring to transition surgeries for minors.
El-Sayed responded by asking if Watters was circumcised.
“Uh, yeah, but that’s a personal question, doctor,” Watters responded, laughing, before contending that “circumcision’s different than castration.”
El-Sayed said that he believed the government should not tell Americans what healthcare procedures they could undergo, but he did not directly say whether he approved of transition surgeries.
The interview showed the strategy El-Sayed is adopting as Rogers seeks to paint him as a radical leftist who is out of touch with Michigan voters. The Democratic nominee’s approach is to cast “culture-war” issues as a distraction from the everyday problems Americans face, like rising costs and worries about health care.
The interview also previewed the kinds of arguments that could animate El-Sayed’s planned debate against Rogers, which is set for Oct. 8 on WOOD-TV, both campaigns announced Monday. The two men may face off sooner if they agree to additional debates.
After Watters brought up Shariah — the system of Islamic religious rules often invoked by opponents to portray Islam as dangerous and anti-American — El-Sayed countered by asking the host if he knew about canon law, the code of religious rules that guides the Roman Catholic Church.
“Nobody is trying to push Shariah law on anyone else, just like I hope nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else,” El-Sayed said. “Because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion.”
Watters responded by saying: “Maybe. Shariah law in Michigan is kind of scary.”
El-Sayed argued that voters were far more concerned about affording gas, seeing doctors and keeping their jobs than they were about Shariah.
Asked about his position on trans athletes in sports, El-Sayed said he believed that matter should be “decided by the people who govern sports,” not him.
“I’m out here trying to take on the healthcare crisis and Big Pharma, and you’re asking me about who gets to play what sports,” El-Sayed said. “It’s silly.”
El-Sayed’s appearance Monday was his third televised interview with Fox News of the campaign, and his first of the general election.
Whether or not he is able to attract a slice of Republican voters, he has already sought to capitalize on Watters’ comments about him. He started airing an ad Thursday that features the Fox News host saying after the primary, “You’ve got to respect Abdul because he beat the machine.”
At the end of the interview Monday, Watters gave his guest “credit for facing the music” by going on his show, but called him “a little naive” and said some of his policies were “straight-up wacky.”
El-Sayed contended that Trump’s ballroom renovations amid the war with Iran were “wacky,” and then said he would “love to come back on” to talk about money in politics, affordability and Medicare for All.
“We’ll do it again, Abdul,” Watters said, smiling amusedly and adding, “Good luck in Michigan.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.