El Sayed’s Muslim Brotherhood questions differ from Obama birther claims: Tiana Lowe Doescher

Washington Examiner economics columnist Tiana Lowe Doescher said that, unlike claims made about former President Barack Obama, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed needs to answer for controversial allegations.“It’s a little different because, unlike the birtherism thing, which had no evidence behind it, obviously, Abdul el Sayed, his mom was allegedly in the Muslim Brotherhood, like his sister tweeted about this,” Doescher said Monday on CNN This Morning.The comments come after Obama was seen campaigning alongside el Sayed on Saturday in Detroit. While the former president has faced controversial accusations, including conspiracy theories on whether he was born in the United States, Doescher said el Sayed’s alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood have more weight. The Michigan Democratic Senate nominee has said neither he nor any member of his family had ties to the organization, of which the State and Treasury departments have designated several branches as terrorist organizations. However, resurfaced posts on X from his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, wrote that their mother was previously involved in the Muslim Brotherhood, and her own posts expressed prayers for family members in Egypt who support the organization. “I think it’s reasonable to ask someone if you disavow something if it’s your literal mom,” Doescher said.El Sayed reiterated that he and his family had no ties after the posts surfaced. In a video posted by el Sayed on Oct. 17, the candidate said he “absolutely” disavows the organization before giving a lengthy response as to the motivations behind the question.He has also faced backlash after dodging questions during an Oct. 8 debate on whether Israel or Iran was the greater threat to the U.S.“It’s a little milquetoast when he has so much energy behind attacking Israel and won’t say, you know, ‘You know, it’s pretty obvious that Iran is a greater threat to America than Israel,’” Doescher said.EL SAYED MOCKS ROGERS’S ‘EARPIECE’ AND TRUMP’S ‘A**’ REMARKS IN GRAND RAPIDS RALLYWhile campaigning alongside el Sayed, Obama acknowledged that he and el Sayed had political differences but that their goals were fundamentally the same.“Obama can try to defend it and be the human meatshield because he is so personally popular, right? He is probably the most popular politician still alive in the U.S.,” Doescher said. “But I don’t think that distracts from Abdul el Sayed’s weaknesses.”