President Donald Trump's former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino appeared on Laura Ingraham's Fox News program on Thursday to rage against the election of Abdul El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
"You know, I get and understand — I don't believe in it obviously, but why people would fall for the socialism hoax," said Bongino. "You know, great, free stuff! I mean, you hear free stuff and it just, it sounds good, right? Free healthcare, the government's going to run it, you don't have to do anything, wow, this is all good, we're going to tax the rich, we don't have to pay for anything. I get why people get suckered by that over and over again, and then, like, the Gulags happen later."
"What I don't get is a national security threat, like I believe this guy to be, given his prior associations and his family associations and the people he pals around with," Bongino continued. "I don't get why they don't understand that. Did we not properly explain, like, who the Muslim Brotherhood is?"
The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist organization originating in Egypt, where El-Sayed's family comes from. El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health official set to be the first Muslim to represent Michigan in the Senate, has no affiliations with the group and has condemned their ideology.
El-Sayed's campaign pitted him against Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman making his second bid for the Senate. Pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, spent heavily in Michigan during the primary and general election, and Elon Musk’s America PAC was among Rogers’ largest backers.
Critics accused Rogers and President Donald Trump of injecting Islamophobia into the race in the closing weeks. A group called “Democrats for Mike Rogers,” later renamed “Together for Michigan,” spent nearly $5 million on his behalf, according to The Bulwark, which reported its funding was predominantly Republican-aligned.