# Abdul El-Sayed flips bigoted gotcha attempt

> Abdul El-Sayed counters bigoted question about Muslim faith at Michigan town hall.
- Title: Abdul El-Sayed flips bigoted gotcha attempt · Mother Jones
- Summary: Abdul El-Sayed counters bigoted question about Muslim faith at Michigan town hall. Abdul El-Sayed refuted a bigoted question about his Muslim faith by…
- Keywords: abdul el-sayed, michigan senate, tommy, muslim brotherhood, john f kennedy, congressional race, christian nationalist, Abdul, El-Sayed, flips, bigoted, gotcha
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/10/abdul-el-sayed-tommy-town-hall-michigan-senate-bird-dog
- Author: Alex Nguyen
- Published: 2026-10-18T11:33:13+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: abdul el-sayed, michigan senate, tommy, muslim brotherhood, john f kennedy, congressional race, christian nationalist
## Tommy's question
A man who identified himself as Tommy asked Abdul El-Sayed to denounce the Muslim Brotherhood at a Michigan town hall.

> Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?
## El-Sayed's response
El-Sayed said he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood but questioned Tommy's implied accusation of dual loyalty.

> Sure. Yeah, absolutely. What are you implying? Do you assume that I wouldn’t?
## Tommy's refusal
Tommy refused to disavow religious doctrine in US law and left the town hall.

> So I think it’s you who needs to understand the Constitution now.
## Tommy's identity
Tommy is Thomas Teepell, a former operations director for Sen. Josh Hawley with ties to Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht.

> Thomas Teepell, who served as operations director for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) until February.
## Key takeaway

Abdul El-Sayed refuted a bigoted question about his Muslim faith by questioning the accuser's implied dual loyalty.