Jessica Tarlov is the Democrat Fox News keeps on The Five to give the other hosts someone to argue with.
She picked the wrong Democrat to defend.
And Greg Gutfeld had one question about her candidate that she walked right into on live television.
Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood Ties Democrats Keep Ignoring
Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is not just another anti-Israel Democrat, and the federal government's own documents make clear why.
When a Hezbollah-inspired terrorist rammed an explosives-laden car into Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, El-Sayed rationalized it – saying the attacker acted out of pain from the war in the Middle East.
That is the man Jessica Tarlov personally interviewed and decided is fine with Jews.
El-Sayed's father-in-law is a leader of what the federal government describes as a front group for the American branch of the Muslim Brotherhood – the original anti-Western, anti-U.S., anti-Israel organization with offshoots waging violence against America and its allies across the globe.
In 2011, El-Sayed wrote an op-ed pledging support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
Ted Cruz raised his candidacy by name at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Muslim Brotherhood networks in the United States. When El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic primary, a Muslim Brotherhood-linked publication celebrated the victory.
El-Sayed told CNN the Israeli government is as "evil" as Hamas. In a separate interview he called it "bloodthirsty." He told another interviewer he struggles with whether Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. He campaigned alongside Hasan Piker – the streamer who said America deserved 9/11 – and called criticism of that choice a "gotcha game."
The ADL called him out for peddling antisemitic tropes. The Democratic Majority for Israel demanded he retract the "bloodthirsty" remark and apologize. AIPAC has pledged to spend against him through November. Even Chuck Schumer – who backed his primary opponent – had to swallow it and endorse him once he won.
Tarlov decided none of it matters because she had a nice sit-down chat.
How Tarlov Defended El-Sayed on The Five
The segment started when Tarlov griped about Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers flip-flopping on tariffs. Greg Gutfeld cut right through it.
"But so what? That still, that makes them worse than Abdul who doesn't like Jews?"
Tarlov's answer was her personal interview with El-Sayed – they had discussed Israel, Jewish safety in Michigan, and she was satisfied with what he told her. She pushed back on the Islamophobia charge next, insisting that Republican attacks on El-Sayed "will not sit well with Jews."
Gutfeld pushed her to define Islamophobia. The best she could produce was that Trump called El-Sayed, Muhammad – which both hosts pointed out is, in fact, his middle name.
"It's his middle name," she said, treating this as a winning rebuttal.
Watters pulled the conversation back to the substance.
"Forget about that. He was asked, 'who's the bigger threat, Israel or Iran?' He couldn't do it, Jessica. He couldn't do it."
Tarlov said she would let voters decide for themselves. When she ran out of answers, she pivoted to Elon Musk and Starlink in Ukraine. Watters did not follow her there.
"He doesn't like you and he doesn't like your people."
Tarlov's response was that El-Sayed likes Taylor Swift, wears tight black t-shirts, and was his school's valedictorian – offered as evidence that concerns about his record are obviously ridiculous.
Watters said what anyone watching was already thinking.
"We're just pointing out he's got Muslim Brotherhood connections. It's called reporting."
Tarlov closed with her strongest card: she thinks El-Sayed likes her more than he likes Watters.
"I think he likes me more than you."
https://twitter.com/ItsDiamondJoe/status/2111204995487940721
El-Sayed Is Leading the Michigan Senate Race With Two Weeks to Go
Multiple October polls show El-Sayed leading Rogers by one to five points, with El-Sayed holding the momentum heading into the final stretch.
If he wins, the man Ted Cruz named at a hearing on Muslim Brotherhood networks in America will sit in the United States Senate – giving a bloc that already includes Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib its first Senate vote.
Democrats knew exactly what they nominated and did it anyway. Jessica Tarlov – a Jewish woman with a public platform – spent a segment of national television explaining why voters should not worry about it.
The Democratic Party decided Muslim Brotherhood family ties, a rationalized synagogue attack, and an inability to name Iran as a bigger threat than Israel are acceptable trade-offs for a Senate seat in Michigan.
El-Sayed does not like her and he does not like her people. She is working to elect him anyway.
Sources:
- Staff, "Jewish Dems Split From El-Sayed Over Islamic Terrorism Concerns," Daily Signal, August 6, 2026.
- Staff, "Analysis: What Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Victory Means for Democrats and Israel," Combat Antisemitism, 2026.
- Staff, "Analysis: The Muslim Brotherhood Goes to Washington," Combat Antisemitism, 2026.
- Staff, "Muslim Brotherhood Publication Celebrates Abdul El-Sayed Primary Victory," Algemeiner, August 10, 2026.
- Staff, "MI Senate Frontrunner 'Struggles' With Israel's Right to Exist as a Jewish State," Legal Insurrection, May 2026.
- Staff, "Abdul El-Sayed Narrowly Leads in Michigan Senate Race," Political Wire, October 11, 2026.