The Problem with Abdul El-Sayed’s JFK Analogy

Catholicism did not shape Kennedy’s political thought in the way that Islam may inform the Michigan Senate candidate’s.

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to the press in the spin room after taking part in a debate with Republican rival candidate Mike Rogers in Grand Rapids, Mich., October 8, 2026.

Jim Vondruska/Reuters

Trying to put some distance between himself and the jihadist Muslim Brotherhood, Michigan’s Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, has taken to analogizing fears about his being a Muslim to the attacks during the 1960 presidential campaign on John F. Kennedy’s Catholicism.

If only.

George Weigel

About the Author

George Weigel

George Weigel is a distinguished senior fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center.

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