What a line, and it’s not surprising it comes from Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA). During a CNN segment where the former heads of the DSCC and NRSC debated the 2026 cycle, Republican Jason Theilman repeated Kennedy’s talking point that Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed sleeps with an Osama bin Laden jersey. He prefaced it by saying he should probably clamp down on media hits because every time he talks, things get worse for him. Guy Cecil was aghast that Theilman went there.
CNN's ‘Inside Politics’ panel on Wednesday blew up when former NRSC director Jason Theilman echoed Louisiana GOP Senator John Kennedy, saying that when El-Sayed “goes to bed at night, it looks like he’s sleeping in Bin Laden’s jersey,” which was followed by brief outrage from Dana Bash and former DSCC director Guy Cecil. At the end of the interview, Bash thanked Cecil for freaking out and telling the Republican, “you’ll apologize later,” and said, “I think it was important what you said.”
— Nick (@nspin310) October 21, 2026
“You’ll apologize later,” he said. No, he won’t, and no one should — it’s not a crazy remark, as we now know that El-Sayed and his family have cozy feelings and ties toward the Muslim Brotherhood: El-Sayed sent a letter to them when they took over Egypt, and his family’s ties were already known. The El-Sayed letters are new, and they come after this man said without doubt that he and his family have no ties to this Islamist group.
The race is tight, but if the GOP outperforms the polls, as it usually does by a 3-4 point margin, former Rep. Mike Rogers wins. Black and Jewish voters do not like El-Sayed; Jewish Democrats in the Detroit suburbs are voting Republican for the first time, and the climate might not be accurate.
Frank Luntz was skeptical of the polls because some aren’t asking the right questions to gauge voter turnout, and Trump voters don’t respond to polls.
CNN: Republicans outperform senate polls in Trump states by an average of 4.1 points If that pattern continues: Ohio: 🔵 Dem +4 -> 🔴 GOP +0.1 Michigan: 🔵 Dem +3 -> 🔴 GOP +1 Alaska: 🔵 Dem +3 -> 🔴 GOP +1 Texas: 🔵 Dem +3 -> 🔴 GOP +1 Iowa: 🔵 Dem +1 -> 🔴 GOP +3 https://t.co/lkSYEQMnqn
— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) October 21, 2026