It was one of the more disingenuous and desperate moments we've seen on Sunday morning TV news shows, and Sen. Tim Scott's (R-S.C.) refusal to play along in Kristin Welker's weekly attempt to find a Republican chump of the week on her Meet the Press show highlighted how completely contemptuous it was. But, spoiler alert: Scott won the moment.
The topic was the Michigan Senate race and Democrat's candidate Abdul El Sayed versus national security hawk Mike Rogers and the Democrat's ties to terrorism.
Some of El Sayed's family are completely in the bag for the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a designated terrorist organization and an organization dedicated to bringing about civilizational jihad—read: conquest—to Western Civilization and enlightenment, in which America is central.
Allow me to characterize the bizarre colloquy on Sunday morning:
Kristin Welker: I won't allow you to talk about Abdul El Sayed's family terror ties because it might affect public opinion. [Pitch increases] I won't allow you to talk about Abdul El Sayed's family terror ties! [Pitch increase 2X] It's not fair to talk about Abdul El Sayed's family's terror ties! [add a Sam Kinnison chorus of ah! ah! ah's! here]
Sen. Tim Scott: Have you lost your ever-loving mind? Of COURSE I'm going to talk about El Sayed's family terror ties, you weirdo.
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Besides campaigning with terrorist-friendly anchor baby, Hasan Piker, allow us to name other ways in which the Michigan Democrat's family has ties with Osama bin Laden and the other organizations that give material support to terrorism.
- El Sayed's birth mother, Fatten Elkomy, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency / Islamic African Relief Agency, which supported Hamas and the Taliban. In 2004, the Treasury Department designated the IARA as a terrorism-supporting organization, alleging it had also supported al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and Hamas-linked activity.
- El Sayed's uncle: Mohamed Elkomy, Abdul El-Sayed’s maternal uncle, also worked for IARA.
- El Sayed married into a Muslim Brotherhood family:
- El Sayed's father-in-law, Dr. Tayeb Jukaku, belonged to three Muslim Brotherhood-related organizations that were unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation case.
- Jukaku was on the Founders Committee of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which aided Hamas.
- El Sayed's father-in-law was the president of CAIR Michigan for five years
- El Sayed's father-in-law is still on CAIR's Board of Directors
- El Sayed tried to hide from a TV crew the books he keeps in his library, books by "an unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, a member of an Islamic group that sought to establish a Sharia-governed state, and a Muslim cleric whose writings have influenced al Qaeda and other major terrorist groups."
These are no coincidences. This is a mindset.
Welker should know all of these connections and yet demanded the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) set those aside and pretend they weren't true. She demanded the Republicans rip their commercials stating the truth about El Sayed.
NewsBusters' Jorge Bonilla characterized Welker's role as "running crisis comms" for El Sayed. So true.
Here's Welker's first statement to Scott on the Michigan race:
The NRSC continues to put out social media posts claiming that Abdul El-Sayed has un/unquote terrorist ties. And yet, there is no evidence that he has terrorist ties, senator. Should the NRSC stop running those ads?
I would direct you to the very terror ties above that she disputes.
Scott responded:
Well, we know- we know without question that he had family members who helped resource Osama bin Laden. We know without question that he campaigns with Piker, who said at one point that America deserved 9/11.
It's here where Welker started losing it and commanded him to "let's stay focused on El-Sayed and what he has said and believes in. There's no evidence..."
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It's here where Scott broke out a brick of C-4, strapped it on her predicate, and lit the fuse.
Listen. Birds of a feather flock together...the company you keep does matter. We all know that. That's something we learn in elementary school. Well, let's go to where he stands on the issues, though. There's a reason why even former Biden administration folks are joining with Republicans and hosting fund-raisers throughout Michigan to support Mike Rogers.
Scott also enumerated the other radical viewpoints El Sayed espouses, including wanting to abolish ICE, when Welker interrupted him again to insert, "Just to be very clear, there is no evidence that El-Sayed supports any terrorist organization." Again, I direct you to the people who have surrounded the grown man and his "commitment to sharia law."
Then she read an excerpt from a Washington Post opinion piece claiming the right-wing media, such as they are, in one-third of their stories mention "Islam, muslims, or sharia." Gee, who would dare write a story using those words about a Muslim who dedicates himself to Islam and says he's committed to Sharia law?
She asked Scott, "Are Republicans trying to scare voters?"
Scott said, "Not at all," but I'd be fine with him saying yes. You have every right to know El Sayed's views, and based on history, they should scare any independently minded, normal, God-fearing American.
Watch it yourself.
WATCH: NBC's Kresten Welker runs crisis comms for Abdul El-Sayed, suggests the @NRSC should pull their ads that quote him in his own words
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) August 23, 2026
KRISTEN WELKER: All right. Let's talk about another state that you raised, another big state, Michigan, the face-off between Democrat Abdul… pic.twitter.com/CTBaVVEXvS