During a portion of an interview aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of “NBC Nightly News,” Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed responded to posts from his half-sister about his family’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood by saying that “We have no ties.” And “I have never had these conversations with my mother.” And “you’re using hearsay evidence from a tweet.” He also stated that “she’s not serious, it’s just not serious.”
Host Tom Llamas said, “[N]ewly revealed past tweets from El-Sayed’s half-sister appearing to call his answer into question.”
Llamas then played video where he read from a few posts and asked, “‘Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect’. ‘My family has long been…MB,’ … ‘Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt.’ Can you just explain it?”
El-Sayed responded, “Yeah, Tom, it’s funny to me, I was born in 1984, down the street in Rochester Hills. I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in the city, led the health department in this county. And you want to ask me about what was happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?”
Llamas then said, “I get it, but you were asked a question, and you gave an answer.”
El-Sayed responded, “Yeah, I’m telling you, like, I have no ties. We have no ties.”
Llamas then cut in to ask, “So your mother had no ties?”
El-Sayed responded, “I have never had these conversations with my mother. I wasn’t raised by my mother.”
Llamas then cut in to ask, “So, you were unaware?”
El-Sayed answered, “But I’m just telling you that, like, you’re using hearsay evidence from a tweet. I just say, she’s not serious, it’s just not serious.”
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