{"id":2649939,"date":"2026-08-26T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/you-need-to-be-smart-enough-to-handle-them-byron-york-on-el-sayed-interview\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T13:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:07:52","slug":"you-need-to-be-smart-enough-to-handle-them-byron-york-on-el-sayed-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/you-need-to-be-smart-enough-to-handle-them-byron-york-on-el-sayed-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;You need to be smart enough to handle them&#8217;: Byron York on el Sayed interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fyou-need-to-be-smart-enough-to-handle-them-byron-york-on-el-sayed-interview%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2649939&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed drew criticism after comparing sex-change surgeries on children to circumcisions in an interview with Fox news host Jesse Watters.During the interview on jesse Watters Primetime, el Sayed was questioned about gender reassignment procedures for minors and about sharia law bans. The discussion became tense when Watters asked if parents should be allowed to perform extreme procedures on their children, prompting el Sayed to compare circumcision to banning sharia law, stating that canon law (Christian law) is different from sharia law, which influences state governance and social norms. Critics,including Byron york of the Washington Examiner,viewed el SayedS responses as inadequate during the interview,suggesting he was unprepared for tough questions. York also hinted that the Democratic Party might regret nominating el Sayed for the Senate race in Michigan, especially as elections approach, emphasizing that a loss in Michigan could hurt Senate control efforts. the interview showcased el Sayed\u2019s controversial stance on gender issues and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-commerce-secretary-is-a-former-venture-capitalist-but-some-gopers-warn-shell-be-soft-on-china\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Commerce Secretary Is A Former Venture Capitalist, But Some GOPers Warn She\u2019ll Be ...Soft On China\u2019\">drew national attention<\/a> and criticism.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michigan Democratic Senate nominee <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/?s=abdul+el+sayed\">Abdul el Sayed<\/a> likened sex-change surgeries on children to circumcisions during an interview with Fox News host <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jesse-watters\/\">Jesse Watters<\/a>, sparking fierce criticism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The socialist candidate appeared Monday on <em>Jesse Watters Primetime<\/em>, where he was pressed on gender reassignment surgeries on children and sharia law bans. Tensions rose as Watters asked el Sayed if he thought it was OK for a parent to \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/el-sayeds-ding-a-ling-defense-child-sex-changes-becomes-instant-attack-magnet-not-same-abdul\">slash his kid\u2019s ding-a-ling off<\/a>.\u201d El Sayed responded by asking if the host was circumcised before trying to switch topics.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4701039\/byron-york-blasts-abdul-el-sayed-interview\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Byron York blasts el Sayed interview on Fox: \u2018You need to be smart enough to handle them\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4700896\/david-scott-daughter-loses-georgia-special-election\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>David Scott\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jesse-watters-says-i-actually-like-abdul-el-sayed-after-interview\/\" title=\"Jesse ... says &#039;I actually like&#039; Abdul ... after ...\">daughter loses special election<\/a> to fill his vacant seat<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4700723\/jesse-watters-compliments-abdul-el-sayed-after-interview\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Jesse Watters says \u2018I actually like\u2019 Abdul el Sayed after interviewing him<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen he brought up the circumcision part, it\u2019s like, \u2018My God\u2019 \u2014 this is the difference between a nose job and decapitation,\u201d <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> chief political correspondent <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/byron-york\/\">Byron York<\/a> said Tuesday on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CZOmvP-JYug\"><em>The Hugh Hewitt Show<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watters continued to challenge el Sayed on prior statements, including the candidate\u2019s claim of a connection between banning sharia law and white supremacy. El Sayed began his argument by comparing sharia law to canon law.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CZOmvP-JYug?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, canon law is the name for Christian law,\u201d el Sayed said to Watters. \u201cI don\u2019t begrudge you your right to practice your faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canon law refers to the internal system of rules within the Catholic Church rather than the broader Christian faith, governing its operations and providing guidance exclusively within the church institution, according <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/beliefs-and-teachings\/what-we-believe\/canon-law\">to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/a>. While sharia law is also a religious framework for Muslims, it has historically shaped and extended into state governance, economics, and social norms, according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/judiciariesworldwide.fjc.gov\/islamic-law-and-legal-systems\">Judiciaries Worldwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you do adversarial interviews that are going to challenge you, you need to be smart enough to handle them,\u201d York said. \u201cAnd clearly el Sayed thought he was, and he wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4700723\/jesse-watters-compliments-abdul-el-sayed-after-interview\/\"><strong>JESSE WATTERS SAYS \u2018I ACTUALLY LIKE\u2019 ABDUL EL SAYED AFTER INTERVIEWING HIM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">York said the Democratic Party may begin experiencing \u201cbuyer\u2019s remorse\u201d about el Sayed being its Senate nominee in Michigan, especially as the general elections draw near.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re going to see kind of an accumulating sense on the Left among Democrats that they\u2019ve kind of made a mistake here in Michigan, and, of course, if they lose Michigan, it\u2019s going to make it all that much harder to actually win the Senate,\u201d York said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El Sayed compares child gender surgeries to circumcisions, sparking criticism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4395,"featured_media":2649940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26231677855826_7d83ab.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[37928,81734,6234,4133,5894],"class_list":["post-2649939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-byron-york","tag-el-sayed","tag-interview","tag-news","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26231677855826_7d83ab.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2649939"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2649947,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649939\/revisions\/2649947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2649940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2649939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2649939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2649939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}