Fox News host Jesse Watters admitted he personally likes Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, even though he strongly disagrees with the candidate’s policies. The rightwing anchor made the remark Tuesday after a 25-minute, one-on-one interview with El-Sayed, who has campaigned on taking money out of politics and passing Medicare for All.
Their discussion ranged from gun rights to immigration enforcement to health care. I probably shouldn’t like him, but I do,” the Fox News host said. El-Sayed accused Watters of focusing on culture war issues that matter little to voters, while Watters called the candidate “wacky” and claimed he was dodging questions.
There were also moments of levity. At one point, El-Sayed described his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, as a “beta” for not having appeared on Watters’ show, prompting the host to laugh. The exchange largely followed the format of Watters pressing El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former director of Detroit’s health department, over his past remarks.
At one point, Watters played a clip in which El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, appeared to equate an effort to ban Sharia law with white supremacy. El-Sayed replied: “Well look man, I think more people are more worried about whether or not they can see a doctor than whether or not they can have a gun. I’m just gonna put that out there.” “I think you dodged the question,” Watters shot back.
One exchange produced an odd moment when Watters asked whether El-Sayed, who won the Democratic primary earlier this month, supports “sex changes for minors.” El-Sayed replied that he does not believe the government should dictate what health care Americans can receive. But, Watters pressed him, asking: “So, you think it’s ok for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off?” El-Sayed then asked Watters whether he had been circumcised. Toward the end of the interview, Watters applauded El-Sayed for appearing on Fox News but said he believed the candidate was misguided.
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