Michigan Senate Nominee Abdul El-Sayed Faces Backlash Over Circumcision Comparison
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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is catching flak from across the political spectrum for comparing circumcision to child sex changes during a Monday night appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime.
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HuffPostMichigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed asked Fox News host Jesse Watters if he was circumcised during an argument about gender-affirming care on Monday.
BreitbartMonday, during his appearance on FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed asked host Jesse Watters if he was circumcized during a discussion about sex changes for minors.
NBC NewsAbdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, tangled with Fox News host Jesse Watters in an interview Monday, repeatedly pivoting from “culture war” questions to refocus on affordability in his state.
The Daily WireIn an astonishing prime-time moment, Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed left viewers stunned Monday night after attempting to equate routine, health-promoting male circumcision with irreversible gender surgeries for minors.
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“So you think it’s OK for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off? You think that’s OK?” Watters followed.
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Fox News"So you think it’s okay for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off?" Watters asked El-Sayed.
BreitbartEL-SAYED: — selectively. I am. WATTERS: So you think it’s okay for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off? You think that’s okay?
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Watters: “A circumcision is different than castration.” El-Sayed: “I just think it’s a problem that you think you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor and a patient. I’m just saying that, yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling, so if you really wanna bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective about how you want to talk about these things.”
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BreitbartWATTERS: A circumcision is different than castration. EL-SAYED: I think it’s a problem. It’s a problem that you think that you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor, and a patient. And I’m just saying that yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling. So if you really want to bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective about the way you talk about these things.
The Daily WireWhen Watters fired back that “circumcision is different than castration,” El-Sayed doubled down on the shocking comparison, snapping, “I’m just saying that, yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling. So if you really want to bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective about how you want to talk about these things.”
NBC NewsWatters answered in the affirmative and called it a “personal question.” “It’s a problem that you think that you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor and a patient,” El-Sayed said. “I’m just saying that yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling. So if you really want to bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective about these things.”
Fox News"It’s a problem that you think you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor and a patient," El-Sayed went on. "I’m just saying that, yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling."
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“So, canon law is the name for Christian law,” he said. “I don’t begrudge you your right to practice your faith as you choose. I don’t know why the idea that I could practice my faith as I choose is a problem. Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else. Just like I hope, nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion.”
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The Daily Wire“Nobody is trying to push Sharia Law on anyone else. Just like I hope nobody is trying to push Canon Law on anybody else because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of religion,” El-Sayed added.
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“Nobody is pushing it,” El-Sayed said. “You know what the issue is in Michigan. The issue that people are worried about is not that someone is going to come and put Sharia Law on them. The issue in Michigan is people are worried about how they’re going to afford their gas. The issue in Michigan is how am I going to see a doctor when I get sick? How am I going to keep my job?”
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NBC News“The issue that people are worried about is not that somehow somebody’s going to come and push Sharia law on them,” he continued. “The issue in Michigan is people are worried about how they’re going to afford their gas. The issue in Michigan is how am I going to see a doctor when I get sick? How am I going to keep my job?”
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EL-SAYED: Look, you know, I remember having great conversations with my conservative friends about right to try legislation. The idea that the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have. I just think the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of healthcare you should have, and if you’re a minor, it is between you, your doctor and your parents.
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The Daily WireRather than giving a straight answer, El-Sayed launched into a libertarian-sounding defense of medical freedom, insisting that “the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have.” But when Watters cut through the political jargon and asked El-Sayed point-blank if it’s okay for a parent to “slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off,” El-Sayed took a bizarre personal turn, asking the prime-time host if he was circumcised.
NBC News“I just think the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of health care you should have,” El-Sayed answered.
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Watters: “That’s wacky. Abdul, Michigan’s not going for that. That is sick stuff.”
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The Daily WireWatters fired back, “That’s wacky. Abdul, Michigan’s not going for that. That is sick stuff.”
BreitbartWATTERS: Abdul, Michigan is not going for that. That is sick stuff. Follow Jeff Poor on X @jeff_poor
NBC News“You seem a little naive, Abdul. I give you credit for facing the music, but some of the stuff’s just straight up wacky,” Watters said. “You know, I don’t know if that’s going to fly in Michigan.”
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WATTERS: You want to try on kids? EL-SAYED: Now, if you disagree with that, if you disagree with that, if you disagree that healthcare decisions need to be made by a doctor and their parents and a patient, then I just we think we agree to disagree.
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“Do you really wanna have this conversation? Are you circumcised?” El-Sayed shot back.
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BreitbartEL-SAYED: I mean, do you — so do you really want to have this conversation? Are you circumcised?
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Fox News Even some on the left didn’t buy into El-Sayed’s attempt to compare sex changes with circumcision.
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02 NBC News “You want to bring up all this culture war,” El-Sayed told Watters during the 25-minute interview. “I’m not here to fight a culture war. I’m here to fight the affordability crisis that people are facing.”
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03 Breitbart Partial transcript as follows: WATTERS: Sex changes for minors. Do you support that?
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04 Washington Times In Michigan’s high-stakes Senate race, Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed have agreed to their first debate.
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05 HuffPost “So Abdul, you’re a doctor, right?” Watters asked, talking over El-Sayed. “I am,” El-Sayed answered.
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06 The Daily Wire Appearing on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” the leftist candidate found himself backed into a corner when host Watters grilled him on whether he supported sex-change operations for kids.
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Sources (6)
- huffpost
- dailywire
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- foxnews
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