Abdul El-Sayed’s controversial interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Monday has enraged a number of prominent Republicans, including some of President Donald Trump’s devotees.

El-Sayed, who secured the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat earlier this month, sat down with Watters for what he hoped would be a “good, wholesome conversation” on Fox News Monday.

For the next 25 minutes, the two men sparred over the Iran war, the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, Black voters and other topics. The chat took an especially combative turn when Watters used cringe wording to ask El-Sayed for his thoughts on gender-affirming care for minors.

“So you think it’s OK for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off? You think that’s OK?” Watters asked.

El-Sayed didn’t miss a beat, firing back: “Do you really wanna have this conversation? Are you circumcised?”

On X, Watters claimed the remark was evidence that El-Sayed was throwing “HIS SUPPORT BEHIND SEX-CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS,” prompting many in the GOP to take aim at the Democrat on social media.

This is the radical left. This is who they are.Insane and sad. https://t.co/5dXYNhxFAN

“This is the radical left. This is who they are,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), who served as White House press secretary during Trump’s first term, wrote on X. “Insane and sad.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) ― who earlier this month incorrectly attributed an offensive quote about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to El-Sayed ― echoed those sentiments.

“The Democratic party truly has been taken over by the far left,” he wrote.

Right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro, meanwhile, suggested El-Sayed’s statement was like drawing a parallel between “cutting off people’s heads” and a “tonsillectomy.” Conservative strategist Mike Davis, meanwhile, went as far as to claim the interview would result in El-Sayed losing his November election against Republican candidate Mike Rogers.

“Goodbye, Adbul. You just guaranteed your defeat,” he wrote on X. “Dingaling.”

Goodbye, Adbul.You just guaranteed your defeat.Dingaling. https://t.co/r3N1nKtHVp

Many of those comments, however, ignored the fact that El-Sayed clarified that his remark was intended to make a point about Fox News’ history of incendiary framing around transgender issues rather than a personal inquiry directed at Watters.

“I just think it’s a problem that you think you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor and a patient,” he explained. “I’m just saying that, yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling, so if you really wanna bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective about how you want to talk about these things.”

Elsewhere in the interview, El-Sayed also accused the Republican Party of using immigration, trans rights and other “culture war” issues as a distraction from everyday problems like inflation and healthcare.

“When I travel the state ― and I’ve traveled my state ― more people are asking me about how they’re going to afford their gas and groceries,” he said. “They’re not asking me about immigration.”

Watch a clip of Jesse Watters’ interview with Abdul El-Sayed below.

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