“It’s like when I went to doors and people actually said, ‘Is Obama Muslim?’ I said, ‘So what if he is?’”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) was caught on camera dismissing concerns about Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and alleged hypocrisy over the prospect that he may have an Egyptian passport.
“One of the biggest pushbacks I’m getting, even from friendly doors, is the whole ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ thing,” the person told Tlaib in a video obtained exclusively by Townhall.
“Obviously they’re targeting (El-Sayed), trying to– they’re not talking about his politics. He doesn’t, you know– obviously he’s not a terrorist,” Tlaib continued, urging the person in the video to tell voters El-Sayed is “obviously” not a terrorist.
“[T]hey’re, you know, trying to gaslight people to believe that,” she said.
“His sister, by the way, his sister is a professor at a university, and like, if that was true, like, I don’t think she’d be working in a school,” Tlaib claimed.
Tlaib is referring to Eman Abdelhadi, El-Sayed’s half-sister who has access to students at the University of Chicago. Abdelhadi praised the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and acknowledged, “My family has long been (Muslim Brotherhood).”
In the video, Tlaib seemed to be unaware of the controversy around El-Sayed’s citizenship. The candidate said previously that he has dual Egypt-United States citizenship, but then, when questioned, claimed he didn’t have it.
“Oh, he can be (a dual citizen),” Tlaib said, arguing if voters are “hung up on that” it’s because of “his faith and his ethnicity.”
Tlaib then turned to former state Rep. Abraham Aiyash to get his opinion.
“Abe, do you guys know how people are asking about his dual citizenship? Like he has an Egyptian passport and a–”
“I don’t think he ever got an Egyptian passport,” Aiyash responded.
“He wrote it in his CV,” the person said, referring to a resume. “I don’t know what the f*ck a CV is,” Tlaib said. “Oh, his resume,” Aiyash said.
“So here’s the thing, in Arab countries, if your parents are from that country, you have automatic birthright to that citizenship,” he said. “I technically have Yemeni (citizenship) — I’ve never claimed it. I don’t even know where my paperwork is. I think he probably just did that.”
“I don’t know why that matters,” Tlaib interjected. “If they’re from freaking Europe and stuff and they got like, French passport, nobody gives a shit. But because he’s got an Egyptian one, everybody gives a shit.”
“The fact that people think he’s a terrorist because the Muslim Brotherhood– they’re saying the fact that people actually think, ‘Is he a terrorist?’ He would be in jail.”
“It’s like when I went to doors and people actually said, ‘Is Obama Muslim?’ I said, ‘So what if he is?’” Tlaib said.
El-Sayed is facing off against Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers on November 3.