Factcheck rebuts Kennedy's Arab claims

An Associated Press factcheck published on Tuesday contradicted statements made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The review confirmed that Arabs have won or been short-listed for the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal, and Wolf Prize in recent years, directly refuting Kennedy's assertion that they do not produce such achievements.

Kennedy made the comments on Monday night while supporting Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. The event took place in a state where Rogers trails his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, in polling. Kennedy argued that despite a global population of 500 million Arabs, the group rarely produces major scientific or literary recognition.

The Health Secretary framed his remarks as part of a critique of the Muslim Brotherhood. He stated that the rise of the group created stagnant societies and ended a golden age in which Islamic lands served as the foundation for art, literature, science, and engineering. Kennedy described that earlier period as highly tolerant, pluralistic, and cosmopolitan.

Critics from both political parties and advocacy groups reacted quickly to the speech. The Council on American-Islamic Relations labeled the remarks a textbook display of unvarnished racism and bigotry. Protect Our Care, a US healthcare advocacy organization, condemned what it called a wildly racist tirade.

Hillary Scholten, the Democratic congresswoman for west Michigan, issued a statement on her Facebook page late Tuesday. She noted that Kennedy has a responsibility to serve all Americans rather than use his position to demean communities with false claims. Scholten pointed out that Kennedy holds neither a medical degree nor a Nobel Peace Prize.

Scholten added that Arab Americans serve as neighbors, colleagues, and professionals in fields including medicine and science. She suggested that Kennedy's rhetoric has undermined public confidence in health science and that he should perhaps sit out the campaign event. She had previously declined to endorse El-Sayed that summer.

The comments arrive as other Trump administration officials have targeted El-Sayed's religious identity. President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a jihadist at a rally in Port Huron on Sunday, claiming the Democrat was on the side of terrorists. Vice President JD Vance intensified the attacks at an event in Howell on Tuesday.

Vance connected El-Sayed's politics to violent protests in Paris, where thousands were arrested. He stated that if rioters were burning down New York or Detroit, figures like Hasan Piker and El-Sayed would be leading them and cheering them on. Rogers has also voiced concerns about El-Sayed's alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood, despite his own past interactions with the group while chairing the House intelligence committee.

El-Sayed has denied any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and disavowed the group during a town hall in Michigan last week. That event gained attention after a confrontation with a heckler who was a former aide to Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who canvassed for El-Sayed last week, described the situation as a coordinated campaign to delegitimize Muslim Americans.

The next scheduled event involves continued campaigning in Michigan as the midterms approach. Both candidates will be traveling to different parts of the state to address voters directly. The polling data cited by local analysts indicates that the race remains competitive, with neither candidate holding a decisive advantage in the most recent surveys.