During an exclusive interview with Chuck Todd, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed stated he would join Bill Maher’s talk show to engage in a public debate. El-Sayed expressed a desire to show Maher being defeated on his own program by someone of the same faith, despite what he described as the "terrible things" the host has said about people like him.

Political commentator Mehdi Hasan later drew attention to the remarks by tagging Maher on social media. There is currently no confirmation from Maher or his production team regarding a scheduled appearance by El-Sayed.