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Rogers and El-Sayed hold first debate in Michigan Senate race

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 24 outlets across the spectrum.

49 articles in total, 8 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Split image of two men speaking at a debate, one at left and one at right podium.
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Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed held their first debate Thursday in Michigan’s open U.S. Senate race. Accounts describe an acrimonious exchange of personal insults, including remarks about each other’s mothers. When El-Sayed asked “You’re going after my mom?”, Rogers said he was going after an organization his mother had worked for. Rogers suggested that members of El-Sayed’s family had ties to terrorist organizations and said El-Sayed cannot condemn terrorism. The debate also touched on the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs, according to one account. The moderator said the candidates kept arguing during a commercial break. Both campaigns claimed victory, and polls show a close race.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed held their first debate on Thursday in Michigan’s open U.S. Senate race.

    Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left4Center4Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Left
    The New York Times, NBC News, Bloomberg, TheGrio
    Center
    The Hill, PBS NewsHour, BBC News, Newsweek
    Right
    The Center Square
    Far Right
    Breitbart News, The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire

  2. The candidates traded personal insults during the debate, including remarks about each other’s mothers.

    Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left3Center2Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Left
    NBC News, Bloomberg, TheGrio
    Center
    BBC News, Newsweek
    Right
    The Center Square
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  3. Rogers suggested that members of El-Sayed’s family had ties to terrorist organizations, and said El-Sayed cannot condemn terrorism and is too close to supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

    Reported byCenter2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News, Newsweek
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  4. Rogers said during the debate that he would welcome support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, after an earlier report said his allies had told the group not to advertise for him.

    One outletThe Daily Caller· Far Right

  5. The moderator said the candidates kept debating during a commercial break, something he said he had never seen in 30 years of moderating debates.

    Reported byCenter1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News
    Far Right
    Breitbart News
Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. The debate touched on the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs.

    One outletNBC News· Left

  2. President Trump posted on social media the morning after the debate, attacking El-Sayed and referring to his Muslim identity.

    One outletBBC News· Center

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Rogers’s remarks linking El-Sayed’s family and supporters to terrorist groups.

    Rogers, as quoted, says El-Sayed cannot condemn terrorism and is too close to supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, and right-leaning outlets present this as a legitimate line of attack. Center coverage reports that Rogers suggested family ties to terrorist organizations and that the BBC’s account describes this as anti-Muslim rhetoric. The El-Sayed campaign calls the exchange personal attacks.

  • Which candidate won the debate.

    The Rogers campaign said Rogers made clear his priorities and called El-Sayed’s answers lies. The El-Sayed campaign said he dominated the debate and put Rogers on the defensive. Outlets describe the exchange as acrimonious without declaring a winner.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    8 outlets · 1 opinion

    Left headlines foreground the acrimony, with “Sparks fly” and “Insults Punctuate”, and the Far Left HuffPost headline makes the mother remarks a played card; the mirror image appears on the right, where the Far Right Daily Wire headline uses the word “Terrorists” as a metaphor for El-Sayed.

    Mike Rogers clashes with Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan debate over Iran, Hamas and Israel
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    4 outlets

    Center headlines describe a heated clash or upcoming face-off, while the BBC headline makes the debate an example of anti-Muslim rhetoric and Newsweek frames the story around the mother question.

    Who Is Abdul El-Sayed's Mom? Mike Rogers' Debate Attack Line Explained
    NewsweekCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    12 outlets · 4 opinion

    Right headlines center El-Sayed’s alleged extremism and Rogers’s attacks on his ties to terrorism, and the Far Right outlets use labels such as “Leftist” and “Terrorists” where the Right-rated Center Square uses the neutral “clash in heated” framing.

    Abdul El-Sayed Is Suddenly Touchy About Discussing Foreign Policy
    TownhallFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left4

    mean-spirited snipingthe oldest trick in the bookPulls The ‘Your Mom’ CardSlashing personal attacks

  • Center2

    uglyanti-Muslim rhetoric

  • Right32

    radicalcon manradicalsslammed

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    radicalMore neutral: Democratic

    Describing a candidate as radical pre-judges his politics; the article gives no supporting detail for the label.

    …around the state tonight to watch the first of two debates between Rogers and his radical, left-wing con man opponent Abdul El-Sayed.

    Used byTownhall (Far Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    con manMore neutral: opponent

    Calling a candidate a con man is a personal insult that asserts dishonesty as fact, which the article does not establish.

    …tonight to watch the first of two debates between Rogers and his radical, left-wing con man opponent Abdul El-Sayed.

    Used byTownhall (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    radicalsMore neutral: candidates

    Calling opponents radicals pre-judges them as extreme without a stated basis.

    …the state to support Rogers and his critical Senate campaign, one that seeks to keep radicals like El-Sayed out of Washington, D.C., and keep the Senate in Republican control.

    Used byTownhall (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    slammedMore neutral: criticized

    Adds hostility to a verb that only needs to report that a criticism was made.

    WASHINGTON — Republican Senate hopeful Mike Rogers slammed his Democratic foe Abdul El-Sayed as a “con man” for describing himself as a doctor —…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 34 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    scoffedMore neutral: said

    Describes Rogers’ tone with judgement the reporting does not establish.

    He says he’s a physician,” Rogers scoffed.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    clobbersMore neutral: criticizes

    Presents a heated exchange as a one-sided beating in the outlet’s own voice.

    Mike Rogers clobbers Abul El-Sayed as ‘fake doctor’ who’d be jailed for treating patients during feisty…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    feistyMore neutral: debate

    Adds a sense of drama to the debate that the facts do not require.

    …clobbers Abul El-Sayed as ‘fake doctor’ who’d be jailed for treating patients during feisty Michigan debate

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    hurledMore neutral: exchanged

    Frames each candidate’s remarks as attacks in a verb that carries force beyond the reported words.

    Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El–Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers hurled a series of personal insults at each other in a vicious debate Thursday night in their…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    viciousMore neutral: heated

    Adds a judgement of hostility to the debate in the outlet’s own voice.

    …and Republican Mike Rogers hurled a series of personal insults at each other in a vicious debate Thursday night in their campaign to succeed outgoing Senator Gary Peters in…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Delegitimizing label

    rubber stampMore neutral: approved or confirmed

    Declares deliberation fake.

    …'bought off by Hamas' while El-Sayed accused Rogers of being inauthentic, and a rubber stamp for President Trump.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    savage insultsMore neutral: personal insults

    Characterizes the insults with a judgement of severity in the outlet’s own voice.

    'Con man' vs 'sock puppet': Michigan Senate rivals trade savage insults as 'glitchy AI chatbot' jab lights up debate

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    mean-spirited snipingMore neutral: personal criticism

    Adds the outlet’s judgement of tone to a description of the exchanges.

    …the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs in a debate that often veered into mean-spirited sniping.

    Used byNBC News (Left)

  • Sensational language

    WOOD CHIPPERMore neutral: a sharp response

    A mocking image that adds drama to a routine rebuttal.

    OH MY: Mike Rogers takes Abdul El-Sayed to the WOOD CHIPPER, CLAPPING BACK after the Muslim progressive hits him for owning a home in Florida:…

    Used byHot Air (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    Abdual citizenMore neutral: El-Sayed

    Mocks the candidate with a deliberate misspelling and a sneering label.

    At least Florida’s in the United States.” https://t.co/0WyJncs6Tp Abdual citizen El-Sayed gets irritated when Michigan Mike calls him out for lying about being a…

    Used byHot Air (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    YOICKSMore neutral: Reaction to early clips of the debate

    An exclamation that adds mockery and drama to a headline about a debate.

    YOICKS

    Used byHot Air (Far Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    infidelMore neutral: non-Muslims

    The term labels non-Muslims with a religious word of contempt in the outlet’s own voice.

    In Islam, lying to the infidel is praiseworthy (taqiyya), which must make Abdul El-Sayed one of the “best” Muslims…

    Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    massive national security threatMore neutral: a national security risk, in the writer’s view

    The phrase states a contested judgement about the candidate as settled fact.

    Nothing he says is trustworthy, and he is a massive national security threat.

    Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    ExposesMore neutral: says

    The verb presents a contested accusation as an established revelation.

    'He's Lying!' Rogers Exposes El-Sayed’s Terror Ties and Deception During Debate.

    Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

  • Absolutist framing

    Terror TiesMore neutral: alleged ties to terrorist groups

    The headline states a contested accusation of terrorist links as established fact.

    'He's Lying!' Rogers Exposes El-Sayed’s Terror Ties and Deception During Debate.

    Used byPJ Media (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    the oldest trick in the bookMore neutral: a personal attack on his opponent’s mother

    Calls the remark a stock dirty tactic in the outlet’s own voice without describing what was said.

    …stage Thursday night, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers pulled out the oldest trick in the book: going after his opponent’s mother.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Pulls The ‘Your Mom’ CardMore neutral: Mike Rogers Refers To El-Sayed’s Mother In Michigan Senate Debate

    Pulls and the card idiom describe the remark as a cheap trick in the outlet’s own voice rather than reporting the words used.

    Mike Rogers Pulls The ‘Your Mom’ Card On El-Sayed In Michigan Senate Debate

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    Muslim leftistMore neutral: Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed

    Attaches a religious and an ideological label to the candidate in the outlet’s own voice, pre-judging him when his name and party identify him.

    Muslim leftist Michigan U.S.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    ClaimsMore neutral: Says

    Claims signals doubt about a statement that is simply being reported, in the outlet’s own voice.

    Michigan Debate: Abdul El-Sayed Claims Mike Rogers Listing Atrocities of Oct.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    LeftistMore neutral: Democratic

    The label attaches an ideological judgement to the candidate before the facts are established.

    Michigan Debate: Leftist U.S.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    Fails to DenyMore neutral: Did Not Directly Respond to Claim About

    The wording implies guilt from a non-answer, while the excerpt says only that El-Sayed did not deny the claim during the debate.

    Senate Candidate El-Sayed Fails to Deny Receiving Campaign Money from Terrorists

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    Slashing personal attacksMore neutral: Personal attacks

    The vivid adjective adds drama beyond the reported exchange.

    Slashing personal attacks dominated the first televised face-off between Dr.

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    problematic issuesMore neutral: policy positions Rogers criticized

    Presents El-Sayed’s positions as flawed without saying which positions or why.

    It looks like Rogers was not shy about going to town on all the problematic issues that El-Sayed has, while the Dem often stood there, looking peeved and…

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    peeved and aggrievedMore neutral: stood by while Rogers spoke

    Characterizes El-Sayed’s demeanor with negative judgement that the excerpt does not support with observable detail.

    …problematic issues that El-Sayed has, while the Dem often stood there, looking peeved and aggrieved.

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    Hoo BoyMore neutral: Rogers and El-Sayed in MI Senate debate

    An informal exclamation that signals the writer’s mood before any facts are given.

    Hoo Boy: Mike Rogers Goes to Town on Abdul El-Sayed in MI Senate Debate

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    RipsMore neutral: Criticizes

    The verb adds hostility to a report of a candidate criticizing an opponent.

    Rogers Rips El-Sayed Over Foreign Ties As Senate Debate Turns Personal

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    UnleashMore neutral: Make

    The verb presents the candidates’ exchanges as deliberate aggression rather than as what they said.

    ‘You Go After My Mom?’: Rogers And El-Sayed Unleash Personal Attacks In First Debate

    Used byThe Daily Caller (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    Butt OutMore neutral: not to spend

    The idiom casts the allies’ earlier instruction as dismissive, while the report only says they discouraged spending.

    Mike Rogers Now Says He Welcomes AIPAC Support After Allies Previously Told Group To Butt Out

    Used byThe Daily Caller (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    Your Momma So TerroristMore neutral: Candidates Trade Remarks About Their Mothers

    The headline attaches a terrorism label to a candidate’s mother as a joke, with no supporting fact in the supplied text.

    Michigan's Your Momma Debate: Your Momma So Terrorist That ...

    Used byHot Air (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    left-of-Lenin LeftMore neutral: progressive Democrat

    The comparison to Lenin pre-judges the candidate’s ideology as extreme rather than describing a position.

    On the left-of-Lenin Left stood Abdulrahman El-Sayed, the non-physician, terrorist sympathizer.

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    terrorist sympathizerMore neutral: Democratic candidate

    The phrase labels the candidate as a supporter of terrorists without any evidence supplied in the text.

    On the left-of-Lenin Left stood Abdulrahman El-Sayed, the non-physician, terrorist sympathizer.

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    TerroristsMore neutral: a Democratic rival

    The headline labels the Democratic candidate a terrorist, a criminal category that no supplied source establishes.

    Negotiating The Heck Out Of Terrorists In Michigan

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    uglyMore neutral: personal

    The word is the outlet’s own judgement of the attacks, where the neutral word personal was available.

    …between Michigan Senate rivals Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers has highlighted how ugly personal attacks are ramping up in the US midterms elections race.

    Used byBBC News (Center)

  • Loaded modifier

    anti-Muslim rhetoricMore neutral: remarks about El-Sayed’s Muslim faith and family

    The headline characterizes Rogers’s remarks as anti-Muslim as a conclusion, a contested judgement of motive rather than a reported fact.

    Michigan Senate debate spotlights increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric as midterms race heats up

    Used byBBC News (Center)

Words quoted from someone else (2)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Delegitimizing label

    Quoted

    lying about being a doctorMore neutral: saying he is not a licensed doctor

    States as fact a credential dispute that is contested, since El-Sayed says he holds a medical degree.

    …Abdual citizen El-Sayed gets irritated when Michigan Mike calls him out for lying about being a doctor.

    Quoted byHot Air (Far Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

  • Loaded modifier

    Quoted

    the best con I’ve ever seenMore neutral: Rogers criticized El-Sayed’s campaign

    The label calls the opponent a fraud, a judgement offered by Rogers rather than the outlet.

    Rogers came out swinging, calling El-Sayed “the best con I’ve ever seen” and blasting him for refusing to issue a statement condemning Hamas’…

    Quoted byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

8 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • personal insults and a mean-spirited tone
  • Rogers’s remarks about El-Sayed’s mother
  • the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs

Leaves out

  • Rogers’s claims about El-Sayed’s family and terrorist organizations
  • Rogers’s welcome of AIPAC support

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 9 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

4 outlets

Leads with

  • the personal attacks and the mother remarks
  • family ties to terrorist organizations raised by Rogers
  • the midterm stakes and close polls

Leaves out

  • Rogers’s welcome of AIPAC support
  • the debate’s discussion of the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 4 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

12 outlets · 4 opinion

Leads with

  • El-Sayed’s alleged ties to terrorism and the Muslim Brotherhood, as Rogers put them
  • Rogers’s welcome of AIPAC support
  • the moderator’s report of the commercial-break exchange
  • campaign claims that Rogers won

Leaves out

  • the debate’s discussion of the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs
  • President Trump’s post attacking El-Sayed after the debate

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 17 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    12 hr 46 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 6:46 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Oct 8, 6:00 AM EDT

  • Right

    5 hr 49 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 11:48 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterOct 8, 6:00 AM EDT
  2. The Washington TimesRightOct 8, 11:48 AM EDT
  3. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 8, 3:45 PM EDT
  4. The New York TimesLeftOct 8, 6:46 PM EDT
  5. TownhallFar RightOct 8, 8:10 PM EDT
  6. New York PostRightOct 8, 8:30 PM EDT
  7. Daily MailRightOct 8, 8:32 PM EDT
  8. NBC NewsLeftOct 8, 8:42 PM EDT
  9. Fox NewsFar RightOct 8, 9:27 PM EDT
  10. BloombergLeftOct 8, 9:51 PM EDT
  11. HuffPostFar LeftOct 8, 9:52 PM EDT
  12. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 8, 10:00 PM EDT
  13. NewsweekCenterOct 8, 10:03 PM EDT
  14. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 8, 10:04 PM EDT
  15. CBS NewsLeftOct 8, 10:09 PM EDT
  16. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 8, 10:53 PM EDT
  17. The Washington PostLeftOct 8, 11:11 PM EDT
  18. Washington ExaminerRightOct 8, 11:14 PM EDT
  19. The Daily WireFar RightOct 9, 4:54 AM EDT
  20. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 9, 8:58 AM EDT
  21. TheGrioLeftOct 9, 10:37 AM EDT
  22. The Center SquareRightOct 9, 12:43 PM EDT
  23. BBC NewsCenterOct 9, 3:45 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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