Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed fielded what sounded like a “gotcha” question at a Michigan town hall and has since embraced the moment as campaign fodder, reports the Wall Street Journal. The four-minute clip posted by El-Sayed—who is in a closely watched race for an open seat with Republican Mike Rogers—has drawn nearly 15 million views. At the town hall, a man who identified himself as a Christian named Tommy asked El-Sayed if he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. The candidate, who is Muslim, quickly said yes, then challenged the premise of the question. El-Sayed argued that it pushed stereotypes about Muslim Americans and echoed past suspicion of Catholic politicians like John F. Kennedy, who once took a question about his allegiance to the pope.
“You’re asking the question because implicitly, you assume that I’ll have dual loyalties, right?” El-Sayed said. “I’m not running to be a Muslim senator. I’m running for US Senate and happen to be Muslim.” He asked Tommy if he would disavow any attempt to read religious doctrine into US law, and when Tommy said he would not, El-Sayed responded that he was the one who needed to read the Constitution. The questioner has been identified as Thomas Teepell, a Republican operative who once worked for Sen. Josh Hawley, per the Handbasket. The Guardian reports that Teepell’s firm, Breakthrough LLC, has received $250,000 for “canvassing and influencer marketing” against El-Sayed. His father, Timmy, is also a longtime GOP strategist.