Fox News host Jesse Watters has been left flabbergasted after a Michigan Democratic Senate nominee asked him live on air whether he was circumcised.
The deeply personal question came from Abdul El-Sayed as the two were sparring about whether children should have access to gender transition surgery.
El-Sayed, 41, is a Detroit-born doctor and former public health official who will be facing Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the close-run November election.
He made the comment about circumcision as he was pressed on Jesse Watters Primetime about whether he supports sex change surgery for minors.
‘I just think the government shouldn’t tell you what kind of healthcare you should have,’ El-Sayed said initially.
‘So you think it’s OK for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off?’ Watters, 48, hit back.
‘Do you really want to have this conversation? Are you circumcised?’ El-Sayed responded.
‘Yeah, but I mean that’s a personal question, doctor,’ a visibly shocked Watters said. ‘But circumcision is different to castration.’
Fox News host Jesse Watters has been left flabbergasted after Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed asked him whether he was circumcised live on air
El-Sayed, 41, is a doctor and former public health official who will be facing Republican nominee Mike Rogers in November. He is pictured on August 21 on the campaign trail
‘It’s a problem that you think you should get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor, and a patient,’ El-Sayed retorted.
The exchange prompted outrage across the MAGA ranks, with Republican politicians slamming El-Sayed’s comparison between circumcision and gender surgery as ‘insane’, while conservative commentators said he had ruined his bid for the Senate.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the comparison made El-Sayed ‘look like an absolute insane person’.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders agreed. ‘This is typical of the radical left,’ she said. ‘This is who they are. Insane and sad.’
Mike Davis, a staunch Donald Trump ally and lawyer, said El-Sayed had destroyed his chances of clinching the Michigan Senate seat with the crude comment.
‘Goodbye Abdul. You just guaranteed your defeat. Dingaling,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet hammered home the absurdity of the comparison made by the aspiring Senator.
‘Abdul El-Sayed just compared circumcision to chopping a kid’s entire penis off,’ Kolvet said.
‘Circumcision and castration are not the same, Abdul! Play this on repeat through November.’
The fiery exchange prompted outrage across the MAGA ranks, with Republican politicians slamming El-Sayed’s comparison between circumcision and gender surgery as ‘insane’, while conservative commentators said he had ruined his bid for the Senate
Gender-affirming surgery for children is banned in 27 states, though it is legal in Michigan. Most of the bans are currently being challenged in court.
The Supreme Court ruled in the United States v. Skrmetti case in June 2025 that state-level bans do not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, allowing most state prohibitions to remain active.
Gender-affirming care covers a wide range of treatments, from mental health care for transgender people to medical and surgical interventions.
