Mike Rogers Questions Abdul El-Sayed’s Patriotism. But What About Trump’s?
Amid all the campaign nastiness, it apparently was okay in the Michigan Senate race for former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican, and his supporters to challenge the “patriotism” of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who proudly identifies as Muslim and an anti-Israeli government partisan.
Mike Rogers, Abdul El-Sayed and the Politics of Patriotism
Rogers and visiting boosters including Donald Trump and Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana have actively attacked El-Sayed as a “jihadist.” Rogers bluntly used the debate stage to present El-Sayed, an American citizen and doctor with whom there are plenty of other policy disagreements, this fundamental challenge: “Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?”
It’s obvious that Rogers and El-Sayed do not like each other, but reaching into the political beliefs of El-Sayed’s estranged mother who abandoned him at age 3 seems a little beyond the pale. Rogers has repeatedly tried to tie El-Sayed to overseas Islamic groups, playing on his ethnicity and his outspokenness on behalf of Palestinian rights.
Indeed, some Jewish Democrats in Michigan – as happened in the New York City election that voted in Mayor Zohran Mamdani — say they are torn about support for El-Sayed, despite his statements of commitment to safety of U.S. Jews. We all recognize that Israeli government policy has been conflated with views of antisemitism globally. El-Sayed has repeatedly denied any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and disavowed the organization. No evidence has been produced to show he has had any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Yet, the attempt to tag El-Sayed with “dual loyalties” – something that El-Sayed himself argues recalls the attempts to tie John F. Kennedy as a presidential candidate to papal loyalty rather than American policy – makes many of us uncomfortable. Where is the right to have an opinion, however justified or not, that varies from what is perceived to be the norm? Indeed, there is growing popular support for a different kind of approach to Middle East politics spreading, particularly among younger Americans, making Rogers’ argument even factually odd.
As with Mamdani or other progressive Democrats, there is a wide array of disagreements with the Trump government to which Rogers pleads total loyalty, from tax cuts to tariffs to war with Iran, without having to resort to ethnic stereotypes.
Donald Trump and the Double Standard on Patriotism
The patriotism issue is weird. It seems to cut only one way for Republicans running all our government branches.
We have Trump himself making business deals with Russia’s Vladimir Putin as Putin continues to kill civilians of our supposed ally Ukraine in the name of land-grab, and as U.S. intelligence says Putin is helping Iran to target U.S. military service members stationed near Iran. What could be more questionable about “patriotism” than aiding those who would attack U.S. interests in the name of a Trump foreign policy based on splitting the world’s spheres of interest?
We have yet another book excerpted in Vanity Fair with documentation showing years of reliance on U.S. foreign policy by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner who was doing billion-dollar deals with Saudi and Middle Eastern leaders with whom we were supposedly seeking peace plans. We have his partner in negotiations, Steve Witkoff, the Trump business partner, who publicly called Putin a “humanitarian” for the release of a state-sponsored U.S. kidnap victim held and tortured over four years.
We have open Trump admiration for the tactics of global strongmen like the former Hungarian leader Victor Orban or North Korea’s Kim Jung Un or China’s Xi Jinping, along with the press restraints, neutering of Congress, defiance of judges that follow their patterns.
We have mass deportation campaigns that overrun law and humanitarian restraint, unleashed in the arrest, capture, deportation and even death of U.S. citizens who raise a voice in protest. We have refusals to follow court orders and a patently politicized Justice Department to pursue Trump enemies.
Even in the Iran war, we have government refusal to acknowledge U.S. casualties and public insistences that the military be a hub for a cultural war rather than an organization that can protect even its own military families at the Bahrain naval base or feed and supply its sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.
Who Gets to Define American Patriotism?
The polls, and shortly, the midterm vote, are yelling at us that voters see Trump caring about Trump rather than the country.
Where exactly is this “patriotism” line that Rogers wants to find only for a candidate who happens to be Muslim and thinks Palestinians shouldn’t be crushed?
Frequently Asked Questions About Patriotism and Michigan’s Senate Race
Why has Mike Rogers questioned Abdul El-Sayed’s patriotism?
Mike Rogers has challenged Abdul El-Sayed over his political views and statements about Middle Eastern affairs, including his support for Palestinian rights. During a debate, Rogers questioned whether El-Sayed supported America or terrorist organizations overseas, drawing criticism over the use of religious identity and national loyalty as campaign issues.
Has Abdul El-Sayed been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood?
Abdul El-Sayed has repeatedly denied having any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and has publicly disavowed the organization. No credible evidence establishing such an affiliation is presented in the article.
How has religion become an issue in Michigan’s Senate race?
El-Sayed’s Muslim identity and criticism of Israeli government policies have become campaign issues. Critics argue that questioning his loyalty to the United States because of his religious background or foreign policy views raises concerns about religious prejudice and political discrimination.
Why is Donald Trump’s patriotism being questioned?
Critics point to Trump’s relationships with foreign leaders, his administration’s foreign policy decisions and his treatment of American democratic institutions. The article argues that standards of patriotism should be applied consistently to political leaders and candidates, regardless of party or religion.
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