- Polls show that El-Sayed, a critic of the Israeli government who would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, is in a tight race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R).
Behind the scenes: White House officials contacted Fox on Tuesday to complain about anchor Martha MacCallum’s interview with El-Sayed, according to people familiar with the conversations. On Truth Social, Trump called the interview “softball.”
- “Fox promotes Dumocrats, not Republicans and MAGA. They are totally lost!” he wrote.
White House frustration Fox’s coverage of El-Sayed had been making waves for weeks before Trump’s message.
- High-ranking Republican officials repeatedly contacted Fox producers and executives in early August, warning them that El-Sayed might use favorable comments from host Jesse Watters to portray himself as a moderate.
- After El-Sayed’s surprise primary victory over an establishment-backed candidate, Watters said, “You have to respect Abdul because he beat the (Democratic) machine.”
Later that month, El-Sayed released a television ad featuring Watters’ remark. His campaign called Watters an “unlikely validator.”
- Republicans were reassured when Watters emphasized his criticism of ICE, his support for Medicare for All, and his views on Sharia law during an interview on August 24, only to be frustrated again when Watters said the next day, “I actually like Abdul. I probably shouldn’t like him, but I do.”
State of play: Fox News has become an important part of El-Sayed’s efforts to reach voters beyond the Democratic base.
- From October 1 to 6, El-Sayed campaign ads aired 129 times on Fox News, about twice as often as on ESPN, according to ad tracking data.
- Dennis Lennox, a Michigan-based Republican strategist, told Axios: “It’s not just that he’s doing interviews with Fox. It’s that he’s on Fox every commercial break.”
Between the lines: Republicans recognize that El-Sayed has shown he can hold his own when faced with tough questions — even when pressed on issues the Republican Party uses against him.
- El-Sayed said during Monday’s interview with MacCallum, “I’m going to have conversations with all kinds of people.”
According to Fox, Watters’ interview with El-Sayed in August attracted nearly 3.4 million viewers, making it the highest-rated primetime cable news show of the month.
- Jason Roe, a Michigan-based Republican strategist, told Axios: “They’re doing him a favor. It’s only helping him reach center-right voters. But they’re in business to make money, and he’s getting eyeballs.”
The other side: A Fox News spokesperson said Rogers was also invited to be interviewed on Watters’ show, but did not respond.
- The White House did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Jay Wallace, The president and editor-in-chief of Fox News Media told Axios on Tuesday that MacCallum’s interview of El-Sayed reflected the network’s desire to air programming that its core audience might not want to hear.
- “Someone didn’t necessarily like it,” Wallace said, apparently referring to Trump. “But that’s what we do.”
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