Dr. Abdul El-Sayed Mocks Pete Hegseth as 'The Sixth Host' of 'The Five' During Fiery Fox News Interview

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed mocked Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a highly combative, 30-minute interview on Fox News, calling him the "sixth host" of the network's program The Five.

The remark was part of a heated, wide-ranging general election campaign segment on Jesse Watters Primetime where El-Sayed repeatedly clashed with the host over media priorities and policy.

El-Sayed took a direct shot at Hegseth’s tenure at Fox News, referencing his prominent background as a network personality.

“I just want to talk about this. You wanna talk about budgets. I’m happy to do that. The guy who used to work on your channel, I think he was like the sixth host on The Five. He wanted to raise our military budget to $1.5 trillion, and you don’t seem to be upset about that. What? So we could fight [a war] we don’t know how to get out of, to raise our gas prices $5 a gallon? That doesn’t make sense to me,” he said of the former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host turned Defense Secretary.

Hegseth spent 10 years at Fox News, working for the network from 2014 until late 2024.

The interview took an unexpected, highly publicized turn during a debate on gender-affirming care for minors. When Jesse Watters pushed him on parental rights regarding surgeries, El-Sayed countered by asking, "Are you circumcised?"

He argued that circumcision is also a selective surgery performed on children, asserting that conservative hosts are inconsistent about what happens between parents, patients and doctors.

El-Sayed criticized the host for focusing entirely on social issues rather than local economic stressors. He claimed that voters in Michigan actually care about gas prices, groceries, healthcare, and trade, rather than media-driven culture wars.

Watters continuously spoke over the candidate, ultimately concluding the interview by labeling El-Sayed's positions as "naive" and "straight-up wacky.”

Conversely, commentators on networks like MS NOW's Morning Joe praised El-Sayed for having the courage to enter a conservative media space to spar directly on policy viewpoints.

Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski praised the exchange as "constructive" and "healthy," stating more Democrats should step up and go on Fox News to present different viewpoints.

Even Watters ended the interview by giving El-Sayed "credit for facing the music" on his show.

El-Sayed recently won a narrow Democratic primary victory against Rep. Haley Stevens. He is set to face Republican nominee and former Congressman Mike Rogers in the November election.