Rogers tells Hannity that El-Sayed could not condemn the Temple Israel attacker
Mike RogersRepublican nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, in a Fox News interview
In a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, Rogers said El-Sayed could not condemn the man who tried to attack 140 Jewish children at Temple Israel, and that "hurt people hurt people" was all El-Sayed could come up with.
Responding to
El-Sayed's cycle-of-violence framing rationalized the antisemitic attack or improperly shifted explanatory responsibility toward Israel and Jews.
“could not condemn the terrorist who tried to attack and kill 140 Jewish children right here in Michigan”
Original video
Analysis
Where this statement fits
Abdul El-Sayed's cycle of violence framing after the Temple Israel attack
After an armed assailant attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed condemned the attack and antisemitism but connected the assailant's actions to an Israeli airstrike that killed members of his family, describing violence as a cycle. Critics said the framing rationalized an antisemitic terrorist attack or shifted responsibility toward Israel and Jews. El-Sayed denied justifying the attack and later apologized for introducing context when the victims needed an unqualified condemnation.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Fox News's YouTube upload of Rogers's interview with Sean Hannity. Rogers criticizes El-Sayed's responses on Iran's Revolutionary Guard and on the Temple Israel attack.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Analysis
About this source
PolitiFact fact-check of Rogers's September 24, 2026 claim that El-Sayed could not condemn the Temple Israel attacker. It reviews El-Sayed's March 12 and March 13 statements and his August apology.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Hannity and Rogers were discussing El-Sayed's answer at a campaign event to a question about Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Hannity said El-Sayed would not condemn Hasan Piker either; Rogers replied that he would 'top' that.
After the quotation
Rogers said "hurt people hurt people" was all El-Sayed could come up with, then returned to El-Sayed's answer about Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is El-Sayed's cycle-of-violence framing of the Temple Israel attack. Rogers rejects that response as a failure to condemn the attacker, which criticizes the framing. We used Condemned. Challenged the characterization does not fit because Rogers is attacking El-Sayed's response, not disputing a label. El-Sayed did say he condemned the attack, and PolitiFact rated this claim Mostly False. We checked the quote against PolitiFact's report and the broadcast clip.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Abdul El-Sayed
More from this case
Read the full caseEl-Sayed disputes claim that he failed to condemn attack
“I did condemn it”Read statement
Rogers renews criticism of El-Sayed's attack response
“He can't condemn a terrorist act that happened on our soil in the state of Michigan.”Read statement
Rogers spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet calls El-Sayed's apology fake
“The only reason he issued a fake apology five months later is because the polling told him to”Read statement
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- Rogers tells Hannity that El-Sayed could not condemn the Temple Israel attacker
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The Dispute Index. "Rogers tells Hannity that El-Sayed could not condemn the Temple Israel attacker". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4821-in-a-fox-news-interview-with-sean-hannity