Abdul El-Sayed wants to be a United States senator. On Monday, he proved just how unserious he really is.
The Michigan socialist Senate nominee sat down with Jesse Watters on Jesse Watters Primetime for what should have been a straightforward conversation about where he stands on the issues. Instead, when Watters asked him whether government should regulate transgender medical procedures for children, El-Sayed did what leftists always do when they can't defend an indefensible position: He changed the subject to something bizarre and personal.
"Do you really want to have this conversation? Are you circumcised?" El-Sayed asked. Watters, visibly caught off guard, didn't answer right away. So El-Sayed asked again. "Jesse, are you?"
You probably know where this stupid question is leading.
"Yeah, yeah, but I mean, that's a personal question — doctor," Watters replied, needling El-Sayed over his background as a physician and former public health official.
I’m not entirely convinced El-Sayed believed he was on solid ground because he tried to change the subject, telling Watters, "You probably should want to move on."
But Watters wasn't going to let him bail. "Circumcision is different than castration," he shot back, stating the painfully obvious.
El-Sayed didn't back down. He argued Watters was being inconsistent by wanting government to ban sex-change surgery for minors while allowing circumcision. "I'm just saying that, yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid's ding-a-ling," he said. "So if you really want to bring that up, you can … I just think you guys are really selective about these things."
That's not an argument; it's just an attempt at deflection that El-Sayed tried (and failed) to turn into a gotcha moment. He was trying to argue that removing a foreskin and surgically removing healthy body parts from confused children are somehow the same thing. No reasonable person believes that, and it's a position that isn't going to win El-Sayed any friends among Jewish voters, for whom circumcision is an important religious tradition.
Watters called the candidate's deflection exactly what it was — "wacky" and "sick" — and that's being generous.
"Abdul, Michigan's not going for that," he told him. "That is sick stuff."
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Watters then pivoted to ask whether El-Sayed supports "boys playing in girls' sports." El-Sayed, clearly irritated, dodged again. "You have not asked me one time about the issues that people actually care about in Michigan," he snapped, accusing Watters of "playing" games. Watters then pointed out that he was simply "getting at whether you think men should play in women's sports," calling it "a big issue."
El-Sayed still wouldn't answer directly, instead punting the decision to "the people who govern sports" and calling the question "insane."
So, @AbdulElSayed literally tried to equate circumcision with transing boys. This guy is really sick.
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) August 25, 2026
pic.twitter.com/4PhWFu9RRR
It was a simple yes-or-no question that any candidate for the world's greatest deliberative body should be able to answer without hyperventilating. Yet, despite his obvious support for the Democrat Party position on this, El-Sayed doesn’t want to go on record supporting it.
The circumcision meltdown wasn't even the worst part of El-Sayed's night. He also refused to say what his plan to socialize healthcare would cost, couldn't answer a basic question about the federal budget, and dodged why he once called the NFL racist. On immigration, he backed arresting some criminal illegal immigrants while demanding the abolition of ICE, seemingly leaving its work to a revived Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Watters called it what it was: "It's a bureaucratic game you're playing," he said. "And that's a dodge."
It was not a good night for El-Sayed.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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