Abdul El-Sayed, the socialist who pretends not to be a socialist and is now the Democrats’ nominee in Michigan's Senate race, sat down with Fox News' Jesse Watters this week for what turned into a train wreck of an interview. He dodged. He deflected. He even tried to compare gender transitions to circumcision. It was that kind of night. Dana Perino reacted to the interview later on The Five and explained exactly why it happened.
Perino's diagnosis went further than one bad night. She said El-Sayed has never faced real pushback, because he has spent his campaign talking only to people who already agree with him. "I don't think he's matured as a candidate," she said. "I think that he skated through on the primary and got through partly because he doesn't sound like a politician."
That works when your audience already agrees with you.
El-Sayed built his campaign inside the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, and Perino said that's the real problem. He avoids any setting "where people don't totally agree with him, like all the Bernie Sanders events," which means he has never had to defend his positions to anyone who might push back. Watters pushed back. El-Sayed had no idea what to do with it.
And it showed.
The circumcision comment really stuck out to Perino.
Watters asked El-Sayed about his support for gender transition procedures, and instead of answering, El-Sayed asked Watters if he was circumcised, as if an elective, medically routine procedure performed on infants and a permanent, life-altering surgery were remotely the same conversation.
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
That moment in particular exemplified El-Sayed’s problem: nobody has asked him the questions that actually matter to voters, because he is, in her words, in "bubble wrap."
ICYMI: The WNBA Keeps Making Itself Irrelevant
Perino's bottom line is that somewhere between 70% and 80% of Americans disagree with most of what El-Sayed actually supports, and none of it has been tested outside a room full of people who already like him. The general election is a different fight, this time against Republican Mike Rogers. "He's not running against Jesse," she said. "He is running against Mike Rogers and it is going to be the Senate race to watch."
She closed with a wish list. "I want to hear more about windmills on Lake Michigan," Perino said. "I want to hear about getting rid of the Second Amendment. And I want to know if he thinks Enes Kanter Freedom should play for the WNBA."
“I don’t think he’s MATURED as a candidate!" @DanaPerino says Abdul El-Sayed may appeal to Bernie’s base, but his positions will face a much tougher test in Michigan’s general election. pic.twitter.com/OL2hQjHtLM
— The Five (@TheFive) August 26, 2026
Good luck getting El-Sayed to answer any of that on the record. Based on how this interview went, he'll find a way to ask Watters about his tonsils instead. But seriously, folks, Perino couldn't be more spot on. And the funny thing is, it's not something unique to El-Sayed either. Have you ever tried debating a liberal you know in real life? Haven't you also found that they don't know how to debate issues because they generally seek out people who agree with them and thus are never challenged?
Exactly.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member