Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers faced questions over his past apparent willingness to engage with the Muslim Brotherhood, as he continued to attack Democratic rival Abdul El-Sayed over his alleged links to the movement ahead of Michigan’s November 3 election. During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker challenged Rogers over President Donald Trump’s attacks on El-Sayed, questioned the evidence behind the allegations and confronted the Republican with his own comments from 2012 endorsing talks with some members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Rogers did not directly answer several of Welker’s questions, instead focusing on allegations about El-Sayed’s political associations and arguing that the Muslim Brotherhood posed a threat to American interests.
The exchange comes amid growing attacks on El-Sayed over the organization, with Trump also accusing the Democratic candidate of supporting the group. El-Sayed has denied having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and rejected suggestions that his background or religious beliefs raise questions about his loyalty to the United States. 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. The U.S. government has designated several branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. 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.
In March 2026, the Sudanese branch also received both designations. Newsweek contacted El Sayed's campaign via email on Sunday for comment. Welker opened the exchange by asking Rogers about Trump’s overnight attack on El-Sayed, in which the president described the Democratic candidate as a "Muslim Brotherhood jihadist" who "hates Jews and blacks and Americans." This is not the first time Trump has criticized El Sayed.
"As you know, there's no evidence to support any of those claims," Welker told Rogers before asking whether he agreed with the president’s remarks. Rogers did not directly answer, instead alleging that El-Sayed had received financial support from groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. "There's a reason he is getting money from groups that support the Muslim Brotherhood, Money from groups that support Hamas and Hezbollah," Rogers said.
Welker pushed back, reminding Rogers that El-Sayed had denied having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and had publicly denounced the organization, including during a previous interview with her. She also raised a 2012 letter signed by El-Sayed supporting Egyptians who had protested against former dictator Hosni Mubarak, arguing that support for the protesters should not be conflated with support for the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization. The exchange then turned to Rogers’ own past comments about engaging with members of the group.
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