Conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson drew the ire of many Republicans this month by praising Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, over his GOP opponent, Mike Rogers.

In an appearance on CNN’s “OutFront” Monday, El-Sayed was asked for his take on finding an unlikely ally in Carlson, a former Fox News host who until recently was a close confidant of President Donald Trump.

Acknowledging that Carlson was “not somebody whose endorsement I sought,” El-Sayed said he believes the unexpected support indicates a broader shift among the once-devoted members of Trump’s MAGA base.

“I think what you’re seeing here is MAGA eating itself,” he explained. “Folks are turning on people like Mike Rogers, because Mike Rogers was a neocon, and then he decried Donald Trump when Donald Trump came to power. Now he’s willing to do whatever Donald Trump tells him to do, so long as Donald Trump is happy with him.”

Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed reacts to his surprising new defender, Tucker Carlson: “He's not somebody whose endorsement I sought.” pic.twitter.com/krfHjvf7ds

Noting that he’s “never had a conversation” with Carlson, El-Sayed described the podcaster’s backing as “more of a non-endorsement” for Rogers “than it is anything about me.”

Carlson was hit with Republican criticism when he proclaimed he “wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gunpoint” during a wide-ranging chat with conservative journalist Saagar Enjeti on the Sept. 2 episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show.”

Later in the conversation, Carlson and Enjeti predicted El-Sayed would succeed in his bid to become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate by eking out a victory over Rogers in November.

Though Carlson has broken from Republicans with increasing frequency, he did not formally endorse El-Sayed. Still, his remarks were enough to enrage many prominent members of Trump’s base, including right-wing activists Nick Fuentes and Laura Loomer, and to catch the attention of Vice President JD Vance.

“Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends, and I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with,” Vance told reporters at a White House press briefing on Sept. 3.

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