Abdul El-Sayed defended his Sharia law views after Jesse Watters questioned him over his religious beliefs and past comments on White supremacy.
He defended taxing wealth above $100 million and clashed with Watters over whether wealthy Americans should pay more.
El-Sayed accused the Trump administration of targeting him because of his Muslim faith and attacked Republican rival Mike Rogers.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faced questioning over his views on Sharia law, previous comments about White supremacy and his proposal to tax wealthy Americans during a heated interview with Jesse Watters on Monday, while accusing the Trump administration of targeting him because of his Muslim faith.
El-Sayed, who is running against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race, defended his religious beliefs and progressive policy positions while clashing with Watters over taxation, religion and other political issues. Watters also questioned El-Sayed about his stated adherence to Sharia law, which Vice President JD Vance recently criticised, as well as previous remarks in which El-Sayed linked efforts to eliminate Sharia law to White supremacy.
Asked about his position on Sharia law, El-Sayed said he had no intention of imposing his faith on other Americans.
"Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else, just like I hope nobody is trying to push Canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion," he told host Jesse Watters.
El-Sayed, who said he would "never" push his faith on someone else, also argued that there was statistical evidence showing the Trump administration had targeted him because of his religion.
"There's statistical evidence that the president and the vice president like to target me simply as a function of my faith," he said.
According to Fox News, El-Sayed also criticised Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., over legislation that would prevent foreign nationals advocating for Sharia law from entering the US. Tuberville has proposed the No Sharia Act and the Preserving a Sharia Free America Act.
"The idea, that you have somebody like Tommy Tuberville – who barely was good at coaching football – is out here trying to ban Sharia Law when there's less than 1% of the Muslim community in America, as if somehow Muslims are out here trying to push Sharia law, that seems to me to be deliberately targeting the Muslim Community, because they're different," he said.
The exchange later moved to El-Sayed’s proposal to tax wealth held by people with more than $100 million. He has repeatedly criticised the influence of "the 1%" on American politics and defended his tax proposal as a way to improve the lives of average Americans, including through infrastructure and education.
El-Sayed discussed the proposal on "The Ansari Podcast" on Wednesday.
"I also think we got to start taxing wealth for people who know have over $100 million. I mean at that point like what are gonna even do with more money?," El-Sayed said Wednesday on "The Ansari Podcast."
Watters challenged El-Sayed’s argument over what wealthy Americans should be able to do with their money.
"What are you going to do with more money? Whatever I want!" Watters said in response to El-Sayed’s podcast remarks.
El-Sayed defended his position by pointing to infrastructure and education as areas where additional tax revenue could improve the lives of average Americans.
The discussion also drew attention to El-Sayed’s household finances. El-Sayed and his wife reported $686,069 in income in 2025, placing their household among Michigan’s top earners.
El-Sayed accused Watters of "defending billionaires", prompting the host to argue that wealthy Americans should have the right to keep the money they earn.
"No, I just think I have the right to the fruits of my own labor. That's America. It's not communist what you're talking about," Watters said.
El-Sayed responded that a higher tax rate would still leave billionaires with substantial income.
"If we tax you at 7%, you're still going to make what? A cool $30 million off your billion dollars? I think that's okay, they're going to be okay, Jesse," he said.
Fox News reported that El-Sayed also turned his attention to Rogers, calling his Republican opponent a "beta" male who "thinks he is running against Hasan Piker".
El-Sayed accused Rogers of dodging interviews, though Fox News reported that El-Sayed himself appeared to dodge questions during his "Jesse Watters Primetime" appearance about men in women’s sports and his previous characterisation of the NFL as racist.
El-Sayed also addressed reparations for Black Americans and US foreign policy. He said considering reparations "shouldn’t be a crazy thing" and argued that the US should not be fighting wars "we don’t know how to get out of," referring to the Iran conflict.
