El-Sayed asks Hasan Piker to tone down his rhetoric: report
Fox News co-host Charlie Hurt and Fox News contributor Kaylee McGhee White discuss U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed telling streamer Hasan Piker to tone down his rhetoric and react to their political alignment on ‘The Bottom Line.’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed traded personal attacks and accusations during a heated Michigan U.S. Senate debate Thursday night, clashing over everything from affordability, the war in Iran and U.S. support for Israel to their respective financial dealings and personal backgrounds.
The contentious showdown in Grand Rapids marked the first time the two candidates faced off onstage ahead of November’s closely watched election, after Rogers declined to participate in a debate last month hosted by FOX 2 Detroit, citing concerns about the moderator’s impartiality.
At the top of Thursday’s debate, what began as a discussion about affordability quickly devolved into personal attacks, with Rogers repeatedly questioning El-Sayed’s medical credentials and accusing him of misleading voters, while El-Sayed accused the former congressman of enriching himself through corporate connections.
“He’s lying. So he lied about being a physician. He lied now about being an Egyptian citizen or not being an Egyptian citizen,” Rogers charged during one particularly heated exchange. “That’s a con-man.”
EL-SAYED’S SCATHING OBAMA CRITIQUE RESURFACES AHEAD OF JOINT CAMPAIGN RALLY
Supporters of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rally outside the WOOD TV studios where he is scheduled to debate Michigan Republican Senate candidate, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, Thursday, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
El-Sayed, who holds a medical degree from Columbia University, rejected the attacks and accused Rogers of attempting to distract voters from issues affecting their everyday lives.
“He wanted to make this about him or me. But the question is about you,” El-Sayed responded. “Can you afford your gas? Can you afford your groceries under this guy who’s going to rubber stamp everything Donald Trump tells him to rubber stamp?”
The candidates also sparred over their personal finances, with El-Sayed repeatedly accusing Rogers of profiting from corporate relationships after leaving Congress and referencing his Florida property and alleged yacht ownership.
Rogers, who denied owning any yachts, countered by questioning El-Sayed’s investments and alleged overseas property holdings in the UAE, while also slamming him for accepting money from billionaires despite simultaneously stumping on not taking money from corporate PACs and getting money out of politics.
EL-SAYED GRILLED ON PIKER, ISRAEL AND SOCIALIST TIES AFTER MIKE ROGERS SKIPS SENATE DEBATE
Supporters of Michigan Republican Senate candidate, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, rally outside a TV studio where Rogers debated Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Thursday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The exchanges became so heated that moderator Rick Albin repeatedly intervened.
“Look, here’s the situation. We’ve got dozens of questions we want to get to. You can’t litigate all of these with 14 different rebuttals,” Albin told the candidates. Following a commercial break, Albin remarked that in 30 years of moderating debates, he had never witnessed candidates continue arguing throughout a commercial break.
The personal accusations remained constant throughout much of the Thursday night debate, but one of the evening’s sharpest policy disagreements emerged over Israel and Iran.
Asked whether he would support providing defensive weapons to Israel if the country were attacked by Iran or another state actor, El-Sayed indicated he would not and reiterated his opposition to using American taxpayer dollars to fund foreign militaries.
“I don’t want our tax dollars buying weapons for other countries. I don’t know what’s so hard about that,” El-Sayed said.
MICHIGAN STUDENT CONFRONTS EL-SAYED OVER IRAN STANCE IN TENSE EXCHANGE: ‘DO YOU STAND WITH US?’
Michigan Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, left, is facing Michigan Republican Senate candidate, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“I think both of them have proven dangerous in their own way. One at risk of attacking us, one getting us into wars we have no business fighting,” he added, referring to Israel and Iran.
El-Sayed also declined to identify whether Israel or Iran posed the greater threat to the United States, despite repeated questioning from the moderator.
“I think both of them have proven dangerous in their own way,” El-Sayed said. “One at risk of attacking us, one getting us into wars. We have no business fighting.”
Rogers, by contrast, indicated he would support providing defensive weapons to Israel and reiterated his support for the Jewish state.
He repeatedly accused El-Sayed of having connections to individuals and organizations supportive of terrorist groups as well, allegations that El-Sayed disputed.
ABDUL EL-SAYED HITS BACK AT ISRAEL QUESTIONS, SUGGESTS HIS NAME AND FAITH ARE BEHIND PRESS SCRUTINY
El-Sayed declined to identify whether Israel or Iran posed the greater threat to the U.S. during Thursday’s Michigcan U.S. Senate debate. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters, File)
The pair also differed on whether the war could come to an end if Iran still maintains the ability to produce a nuclear weapon and continues to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz.
El-Sayed blamed the conflict for rising gas prices and accused Rogers of supporting an unnecessary war, arguing that diplomacy could resolve the conflict even if Iran retained the ability to produce nuclear weapons.
Rogers argued that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been significantly diminished and said the war should end, while maintaining that Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
On domestic policy, El-Sayed expressed openness to federal price controls on domestically produced oil, arguing that high gasoline prices constituted an emergency.
“Look, I definitely think that’s something we should consider,” El-Sayed said.
DEMOCRATS FACE ‘DO-OR-DIE’ SPLIT WITH KEY VOTING BLOC IN RAZOR-CLOSE SENATE RACE
Rising gas prices were a topic during Thursday’s debate. (Scott Olson/Getty Images, File)
Rogers rejected price controls, instead advocating temporary gas tax relief, diesel rebates and a pause on diesel exports.
Health care also became a major flash point.
El-Sayed defended his Medicare for All proposal, insisting that Americans who wanted to retain private insurance could do so. Rogers argued that the proposal would eliminate existing private coverage and impose significant new taxes on families.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The debate unfolded against the backdrop of an exceptionally competitive Senate contest.
A late-September Fox News poll showed El-Sayed leading Rogers 50% to 49% among likely voters, a statistical dead heat.
The candidates are competing for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, with Republicans hoping to flip the seat and Democrats seeking to maintain their hold on it.