Surprise Michigan Democratic Senate primary winner Dr. Abdul El-Sayed stood his ground in an interview on Fox News, refusing to be dragged into the culture wars.
El-Sayed also humiliated Jesse Watters on “Jesse Watters Primetime” Monday night when he went toe to toe with the MAGA host.
The pair clashed over several issues in a wide-ranging interview that included a discussion on healthcare, immigration, and the economy. But Watters amped up the tension when he pushed El-Sayed to talk about transgender athletes.
Interview Turns Explosive
“You have not asked me one time about the issues that people actually care about in Michigan. You don’t want to talk about gas prices. You don’t want to talk about groceries. You don’t want to talk about health care. You don’t want to talk about the stupid trade war that’s about to destroy Michigan’s economy,” El-Sayed bluntly told Watters.
The host interrupted, claiming they did discuss those issues. But El-Sayed pushed back as the two spoke over each other.
“You don’t seem to want to talk about any of those things. You want to bring up all this culture war that you know I’m not here to fight a culture war,” the Michigan doctor told him.
Watters started talking over him again.
“If you want to do the interview, you can do the interview,” an increasingly frustrated Watters told El-Sayed.
“You can play this game if you want,” a smiling El-Sayed responded. “You told me I was going to come on for a conversation. … I think it’s OK to also ask questions. I just want to understand what you’re getting at here.”
Tensions Continue to Flare During Interview
The pair talked over each other again as El-Sayed told him his concern was representing people from Michigan in the Senate as Watters insisted men playing in women’s sports “is a big issue.”
Actually, it’s an issue Republicans have weaponized and talked up incessantly. To put it in perspective, for example, in December of 2024, NCAA President Charlie Baker said there were just 10 transgender players out of 500,000 in college sports.
“Most people don’t care about what sport kids play,” El-Sayed shot back.
But Watters, trying for a gotcha moment, continued pressing El-Sayed about transgender athletes.
“I’m interested in getting money out of politics, putting money in your pocket, and passing Medicare for all,” the Senate candidate said in trying to steer the conversation back to what he said Watters’ audience is more interested in.
Watters Pushes Gotcha Question
Watters claimed the Senate candidate was “filibustering” him.
“Should men play in women’s sports?” Watters demanded.
“Go ahead, Jesse, ask it again,” El-Sayed said as Watters talked over him.
“You have daughters, right?” Watters pressed, trying to get a rise out of El-Sayed, who remained calm under the host’s clear pressure to talk about an issue most Americans could care less about.
But the doctor pushed back, responding clearly. “I played sports my whole life. Sports were an important part of my life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play sports. And at the end of the day, the decision on who gets to play which sports ought to be decided by the people who govern sports. I’m running for U.S. Senate.”
“I’m out here trying to take on the health care crisis and big pharma, and you’re asking me about who gets to play what sports,” the progressive pointed out.
But Watters didn’t back down.
“Ah, it’s kind of a big thing if you’ve been following the news recently, Abdul,” the host stated, talking down to the Rhodes Scholar.
“Please be serious,” El-Sayed replied. “I’m here with you; I want to talk about the issues that matter. Let’s talk about the things that people are actually talking about. … I know you guys are talking about that, but, like, most of the country’s not.”
Social Media Reacts
Social media exploded, praising El-Sayed and lambasting Watters.
“Dr. Abdul El-Sayed said ‘Please be serious.’ GET EM DR!” a Threads user encouraged.
“@jesseprimetime and @foxnews aren’t interested in the real issues. They just stoke fear and division,” another pointed out.”
A Threads poster was grateful to the progressive Senate candidate, “El-Sayed is out here taking one for the team. He’s one patient man.”
This commenter may have said it best, “He made him look like an idiot. He’s like I’m trying to talk about real sh-t, let’s let the people that govern sports deal with that stuff. People wanna hear about gas prices, stupid wars, the cost of everyday things… this Fox News wanker wants to dangle distracting shiny objects and talk culture wars.”
The progressive El-Sayed won the Michigan primary in a surprise upset against establishment Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens. He faces Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in the November midterms.
