Rogers says he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist
Mike RogersRepublican U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan
Asked on Meet the Press whether he agrees with Trump calling El-Sayed a violent terrorist, Rogers says he does not and that he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist. Earlier in the same interview he said El-Sayed gets money from groups that support the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah.
“No, I don’t. I’ve never called him a terrorist. I’ve never called him a terrorist.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Mike Rogers's allegation about Abdul El-Sayed's campaign received funding from a terrorist organization
At a September 10, 2026 Republican National Convention midterm speech, Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said Abdul El-Sayed was funding his campaign with money from “terrorist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.” Rogers did not name a donor, amount, or campaign-finance filing in the speech. The research documents an outside-support chain involving CAIR Action, Unity & Justice Fund, and a Super PAC supporting El-Sayed, while examining whether any record establishes the specific allegation.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
NBC's transcript records Rogers's allegation and Welker's challenge. The allegation is not an established finding.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Welker says Trump has called El-Sayed a violent terrorist, adds that there is no proof of that, and asks Rogers whether he agrees and whether the label meets his standards.
After the quotation
He goes on to say El-Sayed has "pretty radical support groups that don't like America" and that voters ought to decide the election on those issues.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the allegation that El-Sayed's campaign takes money from terrorist-linked groups, Rogers rejects the terrorist label for El-Sayed himself. Earlier in the same interview he repeated his claim about the money. He disputes a label, not the funding claim, so challenging the characterization fits better than condemns or a denial.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseDonor Khaled Elsayes says he did not sign the 2012 letter backing Morsi
“I didn’t sign anything to support Morsi and didn’t even like his policies”Read statement
El-Sayed tells Rogers at the final debate he has never been part of the Muslim Brotherhood
“He keeps raising this question about this association with an organization I've never been a part of.”Read statement
Rogers says at the final debate that El-Sayed is bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood
“So being bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood, having donors to his campaign from Hamas that support Hezbollah is not a problem?”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Rogers says he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6951-asked-on-meet-the-press-whether-he-agrees
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Rogers says he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist". First published: 2026-10-27. Last updated: 2026-10-27. https://disputeindex.com/events/6951-asked-on-meet-the-press-whether-he-agrees