Tucker Carlson, the conservative news titan who once described the Democratic Party as “the party of weirdos, of envy, of hate, of resentment, of bitterness,” has backed a Democrat. That raises eyebrows no matter the candidate, but especially so for Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim on the left of the party.
El-Sayed’s Republican opponent Mike Rogers is attempting to paint El-Sayed as anti-American, saying last week that he treats “our country like it’s the villain,” telling The New York Post that El-Sayed has “long separated himself from Team America,” and describing his opponent’s attitude as “disgusting.”
Writing in his newsletter, Carlson slammed Rogers as “unfit to serve“, saying, “Hold on a second. Disgusting? Understanding that the Bush administration was wrong to kill hundreds of thousands of people and waste trillions of dollars in Iraq, even though, again, Iraq did not do 9/11, is disgusting?”
“El-Sayed did not celebrate airplane hijackings or cheerlead Al-Qaeda”
Carlson went on to describe El-Sayed as having the correct take on America’s actions after 9/11, saying: “El-Sayed did not celebrate airplane hijackings or cheerlead Al-Qaeda; he simply said that the U.S. conducting terrorism of its own in response to 9/11 was not exactly an appropriate reaction. He is obviously right.”
This will make for uncomfortable reading for Rogers, who is currently behind in the polls. As of writing, most major polling companies have El-Sayed ahead of Rogers, some by up to 6 or 7 points (as per the NY Times polling aggregator).
Rogers is arguably in an awkward position. He’s been endorsed by Donald Trump (who said, “HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!“) and has been a prominent cheerleader for the Trump administration’s war with Iran, describing it as “absolutely right,” a “win-win-win” and recently claiming, “We are better off today than we were when it started. I passionately believe that.”
That’s a sentiment increasingly unpopular with voters struggling with high fuel costs. Pollster Nate Silver tracks a clear majority of Americans opposing the war at 55.7%, with just 35.6% supporting it (as of writing). This means that if Rogers’ campaign strategy is to paint El-Sayed as un-American for opposing the Iran War, he’s going against the grain.
Even a Trump endorsement might be more of a hindrance than a help, given the president’s sagging approval ratings. However, we still have weeks to go before polling day, and that’s an eternity in politics. That said, if El-Sayed is picking up praise from a source as unlikely as Tucker Carlson, we may be starting to see which way the electoral wind is blowing in Michigan.
Published: Sep 15, 2026 06:57 am